Vishnuvardhan
Indian actor (1950-2009) · India · On the map · Actors · Died at 59
Sampath Kumar, known by his stage name Vishnuvardhan, was an Indian actor who worked predominantly in Kannada cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam language films.
Vishnuvardhan is read about 694 times a day, in 16 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 6 November 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 104 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?A life in dates
Bellary NagaFilm, 20092004
ApthamitraFilm2000
YajamanaFilm, Shankar/Ganesha (Dual Role)1994
ZaalimFilm, Inspector Mohan1992
KauravarFilm, Haridas I.P.S.1990
Ganeshana MaduveFilm1987
Malgudi DaysSeries, Venkat / Venkat Rao1985
Sri RaghavendrarFilm, Sri Yogenthra Tirtha1982
Sahasa SimhaFilm, Prathap1979
Asadhya AliyaFilm, Ashok1977Galaate SamsaaraFilm, Vasudev Rao1975
Kalla KullaFilm, Mahesh'Kalla'1973
Gandhada GudiFilm, Anand1971
Vamsha VrikshaFilm, credited as "Kumar"1950Born18 September 1950People around Vishnuvardhan
Joe Simon Directed Sahasa Simha (1982)
Leelavathi Also in Premaloka, Naagarahaavu and Kalla Kulla
Dwarakish Produced Kittu Puttu (1977)- G. K. Venkatesh Wrote Bhootayyana Maga Ayyu and Galate Samsara
P. Vasu Directed Jayasimha, Hrudayavantha and Apthamitra- Chellapilla Satyam Wrote Nagara Hole and Sahodarara Savaal
K. S. L. Swamy Directed Makkala Bhagya and Jimmy Gallu
Rockline Venkatesh Produced Himapatha, Laali and Diggajaru
D. Rajendra Babu Directed Appaji, Jeevanadhi and Halunda Tavaru
Hamsalekha Wrote Premaloka, Muthina Haara and Himapatha- M. Ranga Rao Wrote Devaru Kotta Vara and Bandhana
Rajendra Singh Babu Directed Muthina Haara and Himapatha
Manjula Also in Singaporenalli Raja Kulla (1978)
Ambareesh Also in Premaloka, Naagarahaavu and Diggajaru
Deva Wrote Kotigobba, Raja Narasimha and Kadamba
Suresh Krishna Directed Jyeshta and Kadamba- Shakti Prasad Also in Naagarahaavu and Gandhada Gudi
- Siddalingaiah Directed Bhootayyana Maga Ayyu (1974)
Aarathi Also in Hombisilu and Naagarahaavu
Tiger Prabhakar Directed Yama Kinkara (1995)
Sunil Kumar Desai Directed Nishkarsha and Parva- T. R. Ramanna Directed Bhale Huduga and Siritanakke Savaal
T. S. Nagabharana Directed Bangarada Jinke and Nam Yajamanru- Thoogudeepa Srinivas Also in Gandhada Gudi and Kalla Kulla
VishnuvardhanPartners
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Filmography 40
160 credits on file
Television 1
Media & music
Photos 11
Vishnuvardhan with Prema in 1997 Kannada film Ellaranthalla Nanna Ganda
Naganna (left), Vishnuvardhan (center), Ravi Srivatsa (right)
A Toyota car owned by the actor, displayed in Dr. Vishnuvardhan Memorial, Mysore (2025)
Memorial of Dr. Vishnuvardhan, Abhiman studio (July 2024)
A 2013 stamp of India depicting Vishnuvardhan
The actor's statue in Dr. Vishnuvardhan Memorial, Mysore (2025)
Awards
About this person
Vishnuvardhan has a prolific career spanning over four decades, during which he has acted in more than 220 films. A popular cultural icon of Karnataka, and holds the status of a matinée idol among the Kannada diaspora. He is popularly called as Sahasa Simha, Dada and The Angry Young Man of Kannada Cinema. Vishnuvardhan's contributions to Kannada cinema have been praised by his contemporaries in the Indian film industry. The Government of Karnataka honoured him with the highest civilian awards of Karnataka State, the Karnataka Ratna Award in 2025, Rajyotsava Prashasti in 1990 and the Dr. Rajkumar Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 for his contributions to Kannada cinema. He was called The Phoenix of Indian Cinema. In 2008, a poll conducted by CNN-IBN listed Vishnuvardhan as the most popular star in the Kannada film industry.
