
Mysore, Karnataka, India
Sampath Kumar (18 September 1950 – 30 December 2009), known by his stage name Vishnuvardhan, was an Indian actor who worked predominantly in Kannada cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam language films. Vishnuvardhan has a prolific career spanning over four decades, during which he has acted in more than 220 films. A popular cultural icon of Karnataka, and holds the status of a matinée idol among the Kannada diaspora. He is popularly called as Sahasa Simha, Dada and The Angry Young Man of Kannada Cinema. Vishnuvardhan's contributions to Kannada cinema have been praised by his contemporaries in the Indian film industry. The Government of Karnataka honoured him with the highest civilian awards of Karnataka State, the Karnataka Ratna Award in 2025, Rajyothsava Prashasthi in 1990 and the Dr. Rajkumar Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 for his contributions to Kannada cinema. He was called The Phoenix of Indian Cinema. In 2008, a poll conducted by CNN-IBN listed Vishnuvardhan as the most popular star in the Kannada film industry.

as Prabhakar/ Ranga

as Wajid Khan

as Sri Yogenthra Tirtha
1985

as Prabhakar/ Ranga
1980

1998

as Vijay Kumar
1988

2000

2004

1985

as Haridas I.P.S.
1992

as Amar
1986

as Vishnu
1984

as Self
1990
2010

as King Nagaraja (created with CGI)
2016

as Dr. Vijay
2010

2010

2009

2009

as Harish Raj
2007

as Hoovaiah
2007

2007

2006

2006

2005

2005

2004

as Sahukara Raja Mahendra Varma
2004

2004

as Self - Narrator (voice)
2004

as Madhukeshawara Kadamba
2004

2003

2003

as Narasimha Gowda and Chikka
2002

2002

2002

as Nanjunda
2001

as Wodeya
2001