Vidyasagar, known by his stage name Rajesh, was an Indian actor who appeared in Kannada films. Known as 'Kala Thapaswi', Rajesh was an ardent fan of literature. He appeared in many films as the lead in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later on gravitated to strong character roles. He is the father of film actress Aasha Rani who acted in Rathasapthami with Shivrajkumar and the father-in-law of popular Kannada and Tamil actor Arjun Sarja.