Kannada film industry’s leading PRO Sudheendra Venkatesh

By Bollywood Hungama News Network -

January 16, 2023 - 9:11 PM IST

The 52-year-old maverick has carved a niche for himself in promoting films for audience Sudheendra Venkatesh's name is heard almost every Friday in Karnataka, whenever new Kannada films hit the silver screen.

Kannada film industry’s leading PRO Sudheendra Venkatesh

That way, the name invariably appears on the title card of most films. In the Kannada film industry, Sudheendra Venkatesh is a household name as he enjoys absolute monopoly in promoting Kannada films to the audience. He rose to fame during mid-2000. ‘MUNGARU MALE’ (2006) and ‘DHUNIYA’ (2007) films earned him huge recognition for his services and helped him settle as an independent film public relations officer. (PRO) With utmost strength, quality and temperance he continued the rich legacy of Sri Raghavendra Chitravani. D G Venkatesh, popular as Sudheendra Venkatesh, has worked for a whopping 1,200 films since 2006 for Cinema Publicity He was the public relations officer for as many as 2,000 films between 2007 and 2021. With over 35 years of experience in the industry, the 52-year-old maverick has carved a niche for himself. Sri Raghavendra Chitravani (SRC), headed by D G Venkatesh, has been a pioneer in Sandalwood in terms of publicity and promotions. Venkatesh's PR agency enjoys monopoly in the Kannada film industry by promoting over 85% films released annually In the last 16 years, Venkatesh has handled promotion and publicity of over 1,800 films including runaway hits such as ‘Mungaru Male’, ‘Duniya’, ‘KGF’, ‘KGF 2’, ‘Moggina Manassu’, ‘Lucia’, ‘Godhi Banna Sadharana Maikattu’, ‘Rangitaranga’, ‘Kirik Part... Killing Veerappan’, ‘Pancharangi’, ‘Uppi 2’, ‘U Turn’, ‘777 Charlie’, ‘Gaalipata 2’ and others. In an interview with Showtime, Venkatesh throws light on changing trends of promotion and publicity of films, and challenges for a PR agency.

Pan Indian films are a challenge for us. With films releasing in various languages, the PR agency has to coordinate with its counterparts in other languages. Events, including press conferences, are held in major cities of the country. The agency are held in major cities of the country. The agency needs to handle everything from coordination to live telecast and itinerary of stars. We have successfully handled projects such as ‘NOTA’, ‘Dear Comrade’, ‘Baahubali 2’, ‘Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy’, Raktha Charitra’, ‘Viswaroopam’, ‘Uttama Villian’, ‘Jawaan’ and other films. The content needs to be packaged and sent on time.

His permanent clients include the top rated banners such as HOMBALE FILMS, ROCKLINE PRODUCTIONS, JAYANNA COMBINES, SHAILENDRA PRODUCTIONS, RAMOJI FILMS, UPENDRA PRODUCTIONS, KICHCHA CREATIONS, THOOGUDEEPA PRODUCTIONS, PUSHKAR FILMS, SV PRODUCTIONS, KRG FILMS among others.

Currently, Sudheendra Venkatesh is engaged for PAN (Presence Across Nation) India movies including KGF CHAPTER 1&2, KABZA, CHAIRLIE 777, TRIKONA, JAMES (in Kannada) and EEGA, SAIRA NARASIMHA REDDY, NOTA 2.0, DEAR COMRADE, CHAIRLIE 777 and others (other languages) D V Sudheendra launched Raghavendra Chitravani Prashasti Samarambha, a premier event to honour, every year. He conducted events for a period of five years to recognise talented persons.

The awards were given away in five categories. After his demise, Sudheendra venkatesh continued the tradition. Annual functions were held for the last 15 years. The number of categories went up to 11 from five. Fluent in Kannada, English, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi languages Sudheendra Venkatesh handles assignments beyond Karnataka. His hard and dedicated efforts have earned him many honours, appreciations and awards. He is the recipient of Prachara Prabhu, Karnataka Union Patrika Prashasthi, Nagara Jilla Kannada Sahitya Prashasti, Vip News Karnataka Award, Aryabhata Cultural Award, Star Pro Chittara, Chitrasante Best Pro, And Other Awards. The Annual Sri Raghavendra Chitravani Awards were started by Venkatesh’s mentor and uncle D V Sudheendhra in 2001. D V Sudheendhra who considered producers and journalists as his two eyes started felicitating them every year. Slowly, many other celebrities joined hands with D V Sudheendhra and started sponsoring awards. The Annual Sri Raghavendra Chitravani Awards which started off with just two awards is now in its 22nd year and a total of 11 awards are being given every year in various categories.

After the demise of DVS in 2006, Venkatesh continued the tradition his uncle started and has been giving away awards continuously except for two years because of Corona and lockdown. This year a total of 13 awards including two awards (Best Producer and Best Journalist) for the year 2021 and 11 awards for 2022.

Like previous years, this year also many celebrities from Kannada film industry are expected to be a part of the event, which is scheduled on Jan 25th. As of now, the awardees list is being finalised and is expected to be announced soon.