Let's take a look at some of the artists in Kannada Cinema who have not only acted as leads in a film but also directed it
Kannada Cinema is no stranger to vibrance and a lot of it can be attributed to the kind of talent it procures from different places. The same vibrance also stems from the fact that a number of individuals have donned multiple hats through their careers and proven that the best results, sometimes, come forth when one takes matters into their own hands. In this very spirit, a number of artists have functioned as both actors and directors (for the same film) and rendered themselves unique and interesting careers.
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Girish Karnad
Girish Karnad began his film career on the back of his success as a playwright and was instrumental in restructuring the Kannada Film Industry and also championing the "parallel" cause that found traction sometime in the '70s. In the capacity of an actor-director, Karnad has a number of credits to his name, including the gems like 'Vamsha Vriksha' and 'Kanooru Heggadathi'.
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Kashinath
A pioneer in many regards, Kashinath paved the way forward for many of his contemporaries by choosing to both direct and act in the same film. Having made his directorial debut in 1976 with 'Aparoopada Athithigalu', Kashinath starred as the lead in and also directed the 1984 adult film 'Anubhava' (his first lead role) and would then go on to feature as both the director and the lead in a number of successful films - 'Anantana Avantara' and 'Hendathi Endare Heegirabeku' to name a few.
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Shankar Nag
Shankar Nag took up direction for the very first time in 1980 with 'Minchina Ota' and also starred as one of the three leads in the film, along with Lokanath and Ananth Nag. Post the success of the film, Nag went on to direct and star in a number of critically acclaimed and commercially sought films like 'Janma Janumada Anubandha', 'Geetha', 'Accident', etc.
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V. Ravichandran
Perhaps the most successful and the biggest visionary in this category, Ravi Chandran's acting and directorial careers rose in stature parallelly, proving that he was easily quite ahead of his time. He began his directorial career in 1987 with 'Premaloka', a cult classic starring himself and Juhi Chawla, and would then forge a super successful career in the capacity of an actor-director responsible for the biggest and most popular films of the '80s and '90s - 'Ranadheera', 'Shanti Kranti', 'Gopi Krishna', and 'Putnanja' for example.
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Upendra
Treading the same path as Kashinath, Upendra too took up direction first and would eventually turn actor, to star in his own films. The first attempt in this pursuit came in 1998 with 'A', a maverick experiment that brought him recognition as an actor and he would follow this up with more such displays of idiosyncrasy like 'Upendra' and 'Super'.
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Sudeep
Sudeep was already one of the foremost Kannada actors when he chose to turn director. The first film in the capacity of both the actor and the director came in 2006 with 'My Autograph' and the film's quality proved that he was indeed meant to take such challenges. In this regard, Sudeep has six credits to his name already with the list including varied titles like 'Veera Madakari', 'Just Math Mathalli', and 'Manikya'.
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Ramesh Aravind
Ramesh Aravind rose to fame as a one-of-a-kind actor during the '90s and was able to create a very prominent niche for himself during the time. His first attempt at turning director came in 2005 with the remake film 'Rama Shama Bhama' wherein he starred in one of the lead roles along with his trusted pals Kamal Haasan, Urvashi, and others. Ramesh Aravind has functioned as both actor and director on multiple occasions with films like 'Sathyavan Savithri', 'Venkata in Sankata', and 'Accident' as part of his repertoire.
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M.G. Srinivas
For radio jockey M.G. Srinivas began his career with the satire 'Topiwala' which starred Upendra in the lead. Having begun on this promising note, Srinivas, or Srini, took matters into his own hands and went on direct and also star as the lead in 'Srinivasa Kalyana', a promising new-age romantic comedy. Post this, Srinivas would repeat the doubling act in the 2019 legal thriller 'Birbal' which established him as one of the foremost talents in the industry and will be seen donning the same actor-director hat in the upcoming rom-com 'Old Monk'.
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Rakshit Shetty
'Ulidavaru Kandanthe' was a stepping stone for many and it also proved to be the beginning of Rakshit Shetty's directorial career. Still in the nascent stages of his film career, Rakshit took a bold step with his directorial debut and managed to disprove his critics and render a unique film that went on to achieve cult status soon after. Although he hasn't returned to take on the director's role again, he has nevertheless proven that he carries his creative hat along at all times for his many ventures as a producer. Rakshit is set to direct once again after a long gap as the spin-off to 'Ulidavaru Kandanthe', 'Richard Anthony', gets underway soon.
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