Vishnuvardhan, whose 75th birth anniversary falls on Thursday, is celebrated as the “Sahasa Simha” (brave lion) of the Kannada film industry by his fans. The moniker, however, does not quite capture the wide range of roles he played.

His last few movies, before his death in 2009, prove that his talent was not on the wane. However, directors with a lack of imagination wrote for him the typical kind-hearted, sacrificial-saviour type of roles.