V. Ravichandran

Ravichandran started his film career in the early 1980s and acted in many movies along with well-known actors of the Kannada industry, including Vishnuvardhan, Ambarish, Prabhakar and Rajesh, produced by his father. He had made his first on-screen appearance as a child artist in the 1971 movie Kula Gourava starring Rajkumar which was produced by his father. His first movie was Khadeema Kallaru(1982) (as one of the villains). His major commercial success as a leading actor came from Premaloka, a romantic comedy movie starring Juhi Chawla in the female lead role. Premaloka became an all-time blockbuster and cemented Ravichandran's position. He became noted for his mesmerising looks and charismatic style. He was at his peak in the late 80s to mid-90s.[11] After Premaloka, Ravichandran starred in several hits, most notably Ranadheera (which was a remake of Subhash Ghai's Hero), Anjada Gandu, Yuddha Kaanda, Ramachaari, Halli Meshtru, Gadibidi Ganda, Annayya, Putnanja,Sipayi, Yaare Neenu Cheluve, Mangalyam Tantunanena, Preethsod Thappa and Malla.

His role as an innocent village bumpkin in Ramachaari was featured at the Ontario Film Festival. He has stuck to mostly stereotyped roles: a police officer (Shanti Kranti and Abhimanyu), lover (Premaloka, Anjada Gandu and Preethsod Thappa), pop singer (Yuga Purusha and Gadibidi Ganda), rustic Putnanja,Sipayi, Chikkejamanru, Halli Meshtru and Malla, and lawyer (Brahma Vishnu Maheshwara and Yuddha Kaanda).[12]

Ravichandran shot to instant fame when Premaloka, which he produced, directed, and starred in. It was made with a budget of one crore rupees, the most expensive Kannada film in its time. It starred Juhi Chawla as the female lead. Also, Vishnuvardhan, Ambarish, Tiger Prabhakar and other superstars of that period played guest roles in the movie, respecting their long time association with Eshwari Productions. Premaloka also established Hamsalekha, who would team up with Ravichandran for a long period.[13]

Ravichandran's produced Prema Matsara in 1982, under the banner "Ravi Cine Creation".[14] He announced the date of release with a list of theatres on the Muhurth day itself. The movie broke-even financially for him. He then produced Khadeema Kallaru and played, for the first time, a small role as an actor. The movie flopped. He also produced a Hindi movie with Amitabh Bachchan and Sridevi Inquilaab, which was a remake of the blockbuster Kannada movie Chakravyuha, starring Ambareesh and Ambika in lead roles.[15]

In 1991, Ravichandran released Shanti Kranti,[16] the costliest movie ever made in South India till then. Considered his magnum opus, the film was shot in over four years, with a budget of 40 million rupees, and was simultaneously made in Kannada, Telugu and Tamil. The movie was a commercial failure due to its slow-paced storytelling and Ravichandran suffered huge financial losses.