Thirupathi Narasimhalunaidu Venkatesh (born 24 March 1963), better known by his stage name Rockline Venkatesh, is an Indian actor and film producer known for his works in Kannada, Tamil and Hindi cinemas. He is the founder and owner of the production and distribution company, Rockline Entertainments which has directed over five films as of 2012. In 2015 he co-produced Bajrangi Bhaijaan which earned the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment at the 63rd National Film Awards.[1]
Rockline Venkatesh | |
|---|---|
 Venkatesh in 2018 | |
| Born | T. N. Venkatesh 24 March 1963 Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, India |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Spouse | Pushpakumari |
| Children | 2 |
Career
edit1987–2010
editVenkatesh began his career in films as a stuntman and playing supporting roles in 1987. In 1992, he produced his first television series, Ashawadigalu.[2] He started his production venture in 1996 with co-production of Ayudha. He has made films with original stories and also remakes from other languages. He has made films with top super stars of Kannada film industry like Dr. Vishnuvardhan, Ambareesh, Ravichandran, Shivaraj Kumar, Upendra, Sudeep, Puneeth Rajkumar, Darshan, Vijay and others and also made a few small budget films. He has used top film directors like Ravichandran, S.V.Rajendra Singh Babu, D.Rajendra Babu, S. Narayan, KV Raju, Om Prakash Rao, MS Rajashekhar, Sadhu Kokila, Dayal Padmanabhan, Meher Ramesh and others. In 2009, When IDBI started financing Kannada films, Rockline Venkatesh one of the initial producers to welcome the bank to Industry.[3] Rockline Productions has now become a brand name in the Kannada film industry which has produced several blockbusters like Preethse, Preethsodh Thappa, Yaare Neenu Cheluve, Ajay, Mourya, Diggajaru, and Dakota Express.[4][5][6][7]
2010 – present
edit
In 2010, The ongoing buzz was created when it was said superstar Upendra is directing a movie after 10 years, Rockline Venkatesh produced the movie and its said that they spend lakhs of money on photoshoot itself.[8] And in late 2013, after making films like Super, Preethse and Maurya, Venkatesh was very keen to remake Tamil film Soodhu Kavvum in Kannada.[9] Later it was mentioned that Rohit Shetty from Hindi film industry would direct the Hindi version of the film.[10] Recently Venkatesh has been seen working with superstars from various industries, he made his debut as a Telugu film producer with 2014's Power, starring Ravi Teja, Lingaa starring Rajnikanth which released in various languages and in 2015 he associated with Bollywood's superstar Salman Khan for the film Bajrangi Bhaijaan which emerged as a commercial success grossing over ₹6.25 billion worldwide and in the process and became the third highest grossing Indian film[11] after PK and Baahubali.
On New Year's Eve 2015, Killing Veerappan by Ram Gopal Varma was released. Rockline Venkatesh has keyed well in the prominent role as a police officer (where he has performed police roles in movies such as Agni IPS and Police Story) who becomes one of the victim to the killings of Veerappan.
In mid 2016 Rockline Venkatesh acquired the remake rights of Marathi blockbuster Sairat for four southern languages. Sairat, the critically acclaimed love story is the first Marathi film to gross over ₹100 crore (US$15 million) worldwide.[12] Rinku Rajguru, heroine of the Marathi film Sairat will make Sandalwood debut with the Kannada version directed by S Narayan.[13]
In January 2017, Rockline Venkatesh's first Malayalam film was announced. The film, starring Mohanlal and Manju Warrier, was directed by B. Unnikrishnan while Tamil actor Vishal has been cast as the main villain.[14][15]
Filmography
edit| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
As producer
editAs actor
edit| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Hongkongnalli Agent Amar | [21] | |
| 1993 | Ananda Jyothi | Based on the novel Maangalya Maale by Kakolu Saroja Rao | |
| 1994 | Rasika | Rajeev | |
| 1996 | Police Story | ||
| 1997 | Agni IPS | Baasha Khan | |
| 2002 | Dheera | Remake of Evadra Rowdy[22] | |
| Dakota Express | Krishna | Remake of Ee Parakkum Thalika | |
| Balarama | Balarama | Remake of Yerra Mandaram | |
| Nagarahavu | Remake of Baazigar | ||
| 2007 | Police Story 2 | Vijay | |
| 2008 | Kaamannana Makkalu | Krishna | |
| 2009 | Devru | Remake of Thalai Nagaram which itself was based on Malayalam movie Abhimanyu | |
| 2012 | Dakota Picture | Krishna | Remake of Malamaal Weekly |
| 2014 | Lingaa | Man at the bar | Tamil film Cameo appearance in the song "Oh Nanba" |
| 2016 | Killing Veerappan | T. Harikrishna | |
| 2018 | Naachiyaar | Feroz Khan | Tamil film |
| 8MM Bullet | KK | ||
| 2019 | Kurukshetra | Shalya |
References
edit- ^ "63rd National Film Awards" (PDF) (Press release). Directorate of Film Festivals. 28 March 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
- ^ Shenoy, Archana (28 April 2002). "New sensation". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 20 May 2002. Retrieved 11 September 2023.
- ^ "IDBI not keen on financing Kannada films". Rediff. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- ^ "Celebs at Karnataka Chalanachitra Kalavidara Sangha". ask4tick.com. 13 February 2018. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 14 March 2018.
- ^ "Artist association grand meeting". indiaglitz.com. 12 February 2018. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
- ^ "FTII-like institute to come up in Bengaluru". newindianexpress.com. 11 February 2018. Archived from the original on 17 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
- ^ "Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce". newindianexpress.com. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
- ^ "Upendra, the director returns". Rediff. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- ^ "'Soodhu Kavvum' to have Kannada remake". Business Standard. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- ^ "ROHIT SHETTY TO REMAKE SOODHU KAVVUM". Bangalore Mirror. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- ^ "Bajrangi Bhaijaan Total Box Office collections – Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Harshaali". www.belvoireagle.com. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
- ^ "Success ka effect: Sairat to now be remade in 4 different languages!". DNA India. 12 June 2016. Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
- ^ "Kannada Remake Of Marathi Film Sairat Launched". filmibeat. 14 October 2016. Archived from the original on 3 November 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
- ^ "Vishal's role in Malayalam debut revealed?". The New Indian Express. 27 January 2017. Archived from the original on 4 February 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ^ "Vishal to play the main antagonist in Mohanlal's next?". www.bollywoodlife.com. 27 January 2017. Archived from the original on 4 February 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
- ^ "Vishal to make his Malayalam debut in Mohanlal's next". The Indian Express. 27 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
- ^ "Actor Vishal to make Mollywood debut in Mohanlal-starrer". manoramaonline.com. Archived from the original on 27 January 2017. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
- ^ "Darshan's 'Kaatera' gets a release date". thehindu. 29 November 2023. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
- ^ Y Maheswara Reddy (25 August 2023). "Almost ready". Bangalore Mirror. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ "Director Yogaraj Bhat Reveals The Meaning Of His Upcoming Film's Title Karataka Damanaka". News18. 15 July 2023. Archived from the original on 6 September 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ^ "Hongkongnalli Agent Amar (1989) Kannada movie: Cast & Crew".
- ^ "Indiainfo: Kannada: Dheera - Review". Archived from the original on 1 October 2002.
External links
edit- Rockline Venkatesh at IMDb
- Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived 2012-05-12)