Karnataka is one of the most progressive states of India with a rich and long cultural tradition.  It is the land of Kannada, one of the National languages of India and the official language of the state, being spoken by over 50 million people.  Recently recognized by the Government of India as one of the Classical languages of the Country,  it has a rich tradition of  Literature, Art, Architecture, Music and  Dance. 

Kannada Cinema has also evolved as one of the major streams of Indian Cinema. From its humble beginning in 1934 to a full grown industry producing more than 150 films this year, it has tread a long and arduous path creating indelible impression on the minds of the people of Karnataka. It is on the verge of celebrating its Platinum Jubilee, recapturing, reviewing and assessing its 75 years of fruitful existence in the service of the people whose cultural aspirations it has all through representing. IFFI –Goa, 2008 has programmed a retrospective of Kannada cinema with a selection of 5 significant films covering the 7 decades.  There are 3 Kannada films in the Indian Panorama Section. This is a prelude to Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) celebration of the 75 years of Kannada cinema in a big way this year culminating in March 2009.  Films in the section are Babruvahana (Hunsur Krishnamurthi), Bhoothayyana Magga Aiyyu (Siddalingaiah), Ondaondu Kaladalli (Girish Karnad), Nagamandala (T S Nagabharna) and Dweepa (Girish Kasaravalli). 

Karnataka was a vibrant location for production of silent films in the early years of the 20^th century. Number of  activists from the bourgeoning Kannada theatre movement like Late Gubbi Veerana, Subbaiah Naidu and others were actively involved in these productions and they were the earliest to be part of  Kannada cinema also. The early Kannada cinema relied, like their counterparts in other parts of the country, mostly on theatrical productions which were themselves were heavily dependent on historical and mythological stories and forms. The social themes were the post independence phenomenon in Indian cultural scene and so is in the Kannada Cinema. The fifties decade predominantly brought in the modernity and modern social themes into Kannada Cinema. It was the time when the state was reorganized into a Kannada State and as such the linguistic aspirations of the community gained centre stage in the Kannada film discourses. That was the time when Late Dr. Rajkumar emerged as the leading actor, star of the Kannada Cinema. Dada Saheb Phalke award winner Dr Rajkumar recreated history for the new generation of Kannada audiences through enacting almost all the historical and mythological characters in addition to bringing into focus the contemporary social issues challenging the society. Large number of famous literary works found place in the film form and there was a healthy relationship of literature and film at that time. 

The pioneers of Kannada cinema production include Smt. M.V. Rajamma, K.C. N. Gowda, N.Veeraswamy, Parvathamma Rajkumar and the all time important directors who directed memorable films include S/Shri B.R. Panthulu, Hunsur Krishnamurthy, G.V. Iyer, B.S. Ranga and others.  Some of the artistes who strode majestically the Kannada screen are Smt Laxmi Bai, Pandari Bai, B. Saroja Devi, Leelavathi, Kalpana, Balakrishna, Narasimha Raju and a host of others who are still remembered nostalgically by the Kannada audiences.

The decade of sixties and seventies of the last century are considered the golden age of Kannada cinema for its representation of Kannada culture. It was then that the film as the medium of a Director gained recognition. Late Puttanna Kanagal, M.V. Krishna Swamy and N. Lakshminarayan were the most widely recognised auteurs.  The seventies was also the period that witnessed the birth of an alternate cinema in Kannada. Leading intellectuals Girish Karnad, B. V. Karanth.U.R. Ananthamurthy, P. Lankesh, Chandrasekhara Kambar, Prof. Baragur Ramachandrappa, Prema Karanth and others participated in making of films based on contemporary literary pieces, which are now referred to as the period of “New Wave”. That was also the period when new breed of film makers fully trained in the vocation of film making like Girish Kasaravalli emerged on the Kannada screen and who also made a large impact on the Indian film scene.

The next twenty years saw consolidation of Kannada film industry in terms of business and technology also. Number of productions increased and Karnataka emerged as a film production centre with its own infrastructure of studios, Labs etc. The Government of Karnataka pitched in to bring the entire industry to Karnataka from Chennai through building infrastructure and also providing magnanimous incentives through subsidies, instituting awards under various categories etc.

The 21^st century saw emergence of new breed of film makers who are business and technology savvy and who could feel the pulse of the new generation of audiences in the changing cultural scenario of Karnataka.There has been huge successes in the last few years and the industry continues to grow at a healthy pace.

Karnataka is a cosmopolitan state with a number of languages coexisting and despite the fact that the Kannada cinema is the only cinema industry in the country that has to compete with all other south Indian language films in addition to Bollywood and Hollywood cinema, it is creditable that it has maintained its cultural, intellectual and  economic values intact .

KFCC, in collaboration with the Government of Karnataka, will be holding film festivals, academic activities like seminars, publications on various aspects of Kannada cinema, photo exhibitions, poster exhibitions etc., at various locations not only across the Karnataka state but also in other parts of India including Goa in addition to oversees venues.

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DS/AS