Shimoga district and film industry have a strong bond. Most of the theatres in the district play Kannada films in certain regions of Shimoga. The famous theatres of the city are Lakshmi, H.P.C, Mallikarjuna, Modern, Vinayaka…
Shimoga district gained public eye, when Agumbe in Thirthahalli Taluk was selected as the spot to shoot the Malgudi Days, a tele-serial based on a famous tale written by R K Narayan. This tele-serial was directed by the famous Kannada actor and director, Shankar Nag.
Some of the well-known cinema personalities born in Shimoga district are:
Girish Kasaravalli: A recognized film director who has won more Swarna Kamal awards for Kannada classic movies than any other living film director in the country, thus enriching Kannnda film industry and Kannada culture in general. Girish Kasaravalli was born in a village called Kesalur in Thirthahalli Taluk.
Diganth: An upcoming star of kannada film industry, who was introduced in the movie ‘miss California’. But he got public recognition from Mungaru Male, which gave a turn to the industry. Later on, he acted 5 leading role. He is also from Thirthahalli Taluk and have a Bachelor's degree in commerce with him.
P. Lankesh: Born in a village called Konaganahalli in Shimoga district, He is very popular for being the editor of the controversial weekly news paper, Lankesh Patrike. He was also a well-known film director who won the national award for the best direction for his very first film Pallavi in the year 1976.
Sudeep: A famous actor, director and producer from shimoga district. He studied mechanical engineering from Dayananda sagar college of engineering. He had his debut in Tayavva. His kannada movies are My autograph, Just math mathalli, Sparsha, Hucha, Mussanje Mathu. He also stepped in Hindi, his hindi movies are Phoonk, Rann, Phoonk 2 etc. He has won 3 film fare awards too. He has left his footprints in TV shows also.