When Crazy Star V. Ravichandran asserted that he laid the foundation for pan-India Kannada films like 'K.G.F: Chapter 2'

It wouldn't be a stretch to term veteran actor-director V. Ravichandran a bonafide cultural icon for Kannada cinema. Along with the likes of Shankar Nag, Kashinath, Ananth Nag, and others, Ravichandran redefined the '80s through his many maverick and ambitious films and would go on to retain the same top spot through the subsequent decade as well. Ravichandran would also write and direct most of his films during this phase and films like Premaloka, Shanti Kranti, and others have stood the test of time as cult hits for the fans.

And in this vein, the "Crazy Star" recently took the stage to speak about the monumental feat that K.G.F: Chapter 2 has achieved. The same event saw Grammy award winner Ricky Kej being felicitated amidst many noteworthy names of the Kannada Film Industry and Ravi Chandran acknowledged that the music composer's achievements on the global stage are as significant to Kannadigas as those of the KGF films. In the same breath, he also stated that K.G.F: Chapter 2 is ruling the roost today because actors and artists like himself have first laid the foundation.

"We (Kannadigas) are as good as the best out there and the success of KGF 2 has proven just that. Plus, with Ricky Kej entering the Grammy race for the second time, it has been proven again - we are proud of Ricky and this moment. But great things are possible only when people work in synergy - while there's no doubt that KGF: Chapter 2 has entered the history books, one must remember who laid the foundation for this. I did that with Shanti Kranti many years ago and it has taken us close to 40 years to get to this point. So, in essence, someone's got to lay the foundation for the subsequent generation to build on it. Same way, KGF's success shouldn't be the end of it and one shouldn't envy that either - instead, new filmmakers must feel motivated to break those records,[sic]" said Ravichandran.

Shanti Kranti was co-written and directed by V. Ravichandran in 1991 and the film was shot simultaneously in four different languages (Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi) to make it one of the earliest pan-Indian efforts. Similarly, his directorial debut Premaloka (starring Juhi Chawla) was shot and released in tandem in Kannada and Tamil - both the films achieved tremendous box office results and are still regarded to be two of the finest films in Kannada film history.

V. Ravichandran celebrates his 61st birthday today and will soon be seen playing a rather intense part in his own directorial Ravi Bopanna. On the special occasion today, Ravichandran shared a unique glimpse into the upcoming thriller which will be a remake of the 2018 Malayalam hit 'Joseph'.