V. Ravichandran

As an actor

Ravichandran started his film career in the early 1980s and acted in many movies along with well-known actors of the Kannada industry, including Dr.Rajkumar, Vishnuvardhan, Ambarish, Prabhakar and Rajesh, 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.^[10] 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. Ravichandran best pairs with South Indian actress Kushboo.

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).^[11]

As director

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.

Premaloka broke several records and defined much of Ravichandran's later film-making. It set the stage for lavish productions in the Kannada film industry, and inspired a generation of directors. Ravichandran is generally credited with introducing a culture of producing big-budget films in Kannada. Ravichandran initially acted in and directed movies produced by his own banner, Eswari Productions. After Premaloka, he accepted acting offers from other producers. He has worked with directors of the Kannada film industry such as S. V. Rajendra Singh Babu and D. Rajendra Babu.

As producer

Ravichandran's first movie as a producer is not from his father's company, he started his own company (Ravi Cine Creation) and produced Prema Matsara. He announced the date of release with a list of theatres on the Muhurth day itself. The movie turned out a break-even financially for him. The second movie he produced was Kadima Kallaru and he also appeared in a small role for the first time and this was his first movie as actor. It was a financial disaster in the box office. He also produced a Hindi movie with Amitabh Bachchan and Sridevi Inquilaab (film), which was a remake of the blockbuster Kannada movie Chakravyuha, starring Ambareesh and Ambika in lead roles.

In 1991, Ravichandran released Shanti Kranti,^[12] 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 it slow paced story telling and Ravichandran suffered huge losses financially and morally.

Music director

Ravichandran is credited with "discovering" the talented Hamsalekha. Together, they worked in over 25 films and created several popular numbers. However, the duo parted company after Preethsod Thappa, only to work again in Ondagona Baa, which was a commercial and musical failure. In Hamsalekha's absence, Ravichandran took up the role of a music director and created a few popular tunes in Ekangi and Aham Premasmi. But critics generally consider him a below average music director. However, he won a state award for best music director for the movie Ekangi.

Ravichandran started his own audio company "Eswari Audio", which later was renamed into "Eshwari Entertainments". For his brother's debut movie, Aham Premasmi, he bypassed the entire music industry and sold the music cassettes through cable operators to beat piracy and brought "Digital Grading" Technology to Kannada Film Industry and also brought color technicians from abroad.

Television

Ravichandran debuted in Kannada television as a talent show judge. Dancing Star-season 2 on Colors Kannada saw him as a very popular judge. He continued his relationship with the show when the channel launched the extension of the show: Dancing Star Junior.