Girish Raghunath Karnad (Known as Girish Karnad – born 19 May 1938 – Died on 10th June 2019) is an Indian actor, film director, Kannada writer, playwright and a Rhodes Scholar, who predominantly works in South Indian cinema and Bollywood. His rise as a playwright in the 1960s, marked the coming of age of modern Indian playwriting in Kannada, just as Badal Sarkar did in Bengali, Vijay Tendulkar in Marathi, and Mohan Rakesh in Hindi. He is a recipient of the 1998 Jnanpith Award, the highest literary honour conferred in India.
For four decades Karnad has been composing plays, often using history and mythology to tackle contemporary issues. He has translated his plays into English and has received acclaim.b His plays have been translated into some Indian languages and directed by directors like Ebrahim Alkazi, B. V. Karanth, Alyque Padamsee, Prasanna, Arvind Gaur, Satyadev Dubey, Vijaya Mehta, Shyamanand Jalan, Amal Allana and Zafer Mohiuddin. He is active in the world of Indian cinema working as an actor, director, and screenwriter, in Hindi and Kannada cinema, earning awards along the way.
He was conferred Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan by the Government of India and won four Filmfare Awards, of which three are Filmfare Award for Best Director – Kannada and the fourth a Filmfare Best Screenplay Award.
Literature
Karnad is known as a playwright. His plays, written in Kannada, have been translated into English and some Indian languages. Kannada is his language of choice.
Movies
Karnad made his acting as well as screenwriting debut in a Kannada movie, Samskara (1970), based on a novel by U.R. Ananthamurthy and directed by Pattabhirama Reddy. That movie won the first President’s Golden Lotus Award for Kannada cinema.
In television, he played the role of Swami’s father in the TV series Malgudi Days (1986–1987), based on R. K. Narayan’s books. He also hosted the science magazine Turning Pointon Doordarshan, in the early 1990s.
He made his directorial debut with Vamsha Vriksha (1971), based on a Kannada novel by S. L. Bhyrappa. It won him National Film Award for Best Direction along with B. V. Karanth, who co-directed the film. Later, Karnad directed several movies in Kannada and Hindi, including Godhuli (1977) and Utsav (1984). Karnad has made number of documentaries, like one on the Kannada poet D. R. Bendre (1972), Kanaka-Purandara (English, 1988) on two medieval Bhakti poets of Karnataka, Kanaka Dasa and Purandara Dasa, and The Lamp in the Niche (English, 1989) on Sufism and the Bhakti movement. Many of his films and documentaries have won several national and international awards.
Some of his famous Kannada movies include Tabbaliyu Neenade Magane, Ondanondu Kaladalli, Cheluvi and Kaadu and most recent film Kanooru Heggaditi (1999), based on a novel by Kannada writer Kuvempu.
His Hindi movies include Nishaant (1975), Manthan (1976), Swami (1977) and Pukar (2000). He has acted in a number of Nagesh Kukunoor films, starting with Iqbal (2005), where Karnad’s role of the ruthless cricket coach got him critical acclaim. This was followed by Dor (2006), 8 x 10 Tasveer (2009), with lead actor Akshay Kumar and Aashayein (2010).
He came back to Hindi movies after three years. He played a key role in Yash Raj Film’s movie “Ek tha tiger”(2012) and “Tiger zinda hai”(2017).
Karnad has acted in the Kannada gangster movie Aa Dinagalu.
Serials :
Malgudi Days and Indradhanush
Films
| Title | Year | Role | Language |
| Sultan: The Saviour | 2018 | S.I Mahesh Deshpande | Bengali |
| Tiger Zinda Hai | 2017 | Dr. Shenoy (RAW Chief) | Hindi |
| Chalk n Duster | 2016 | Manohar Sawant | Hindi |
| Shivaay | 2016 | Anushka’s father | Hindi |
| 24 | 2016 | Sathya’s grandfather | Tamil |
| Chandrika | 2015 | Kannada | |
| Dheera Rana Vikrama | 2015 | K. V. Anand Rao (Home Minister Of Karnataka) | |
| Rudra Tandava | 2015 | Chiranjeevi Sarja’s Father | |
| Savari 2 | 2014 | Vishwanath | |
| Samrat & Co. | 2014 | ||
| Sweety Nanna Jodi | 2013 | ||
| Yaare Koogadali | 2012 | ||
| Mugamoodi | 2012 | Tamil | |
| Ek Tha Tiger | 2012 | Dr. Shenoy (RAW Chief) | |
| Kempe Gowda | 2011 | Mahadev Gowda (Kavya’s Father) | |
| Narthagi | 2011 | Tamil | |
| Komaram Puli | 2010 | Narasimha Rao (Prime minister) | Telugu |
| Life Goes On | 2009 | Sanjay | |
| Aashayein | 2009 | Parthasarthi | |
| 8 x 10 Tasveer | 2009 | Anil Sharma | |
| Sangaathi | 2008 | Kannada | |
| Chilipili Hakkigalu | 2008 | School Master | Kannada |
| Lava Kusha | 2007 | Heros’ Father | Kannada |
| Aa Dinagalu | 2007 | Girish Nayak | Kannada |
| Tananam Tananam | 2006 | Shastry | Kannada |
| Dor | 2006 | Randhir Singh | |
| Iqbal | 2005 | Guruji | |
| Shankar Dada MBBS | 2004 | Satya Prasad | Telugu |
| Chellamae | 2004 | Rajasekhar | Tamil |
| Vande Matharam | 2001 | Vijayashanti’s Father | Kannada |
| Hey Ram | 2000 | Uppilli Iyengar | Tamil |
| Pukar | 2000 | Mr. Rajvansh | |
| Prathyartha | 1999 | Sheshanag Dixit (Home Minister) | |
| Janumadatha | 1999 | Dr. Akbar Ali | Kannada |
| AK-47 | 1999 | Jagannath Rao | |
| Kanooru Heggadithi | 1999 | Kannada | |
| Aakrosh: Cyclone of Anger | 1998 | Rajwansh Shashtri | |
| April Fool | 1998 | Kannada | |
| China Gate | 1998 | Forest Officer Sunder Rajan | |
| Minsaara Kanavu | 1997 | Amal Raj | Tamil |
| Ratchagan | 1997 | Sriram | Tamil |
| The Prince | 1996 | Vishwanath | Malayalam |
| Aatank | 1996 | Inspector Khan | |
| Dharma Chakram | 1996 | Telugu | |
| Sangeetha Sagara Ganayogi Panchakshara Gavai | 1995 | Hanagal Kumaraswamiji | |
| Aagatha | 1994 | Psychiatrist | Kannada |
| Kadhalan | 1994 | Kakarla Satyanarayana Murti | Tamil |
| Poorna Sathya | 1994 | Kannada | |
| Praana Daata | 1993 | ||
| Cheluvi | 1992 | Village Headman | |
| Gunaa | 1991 | ||
| Antarnaad | 1991 | ||
| Brahma | 1991 | ||
| Chaitanya | 1991 | ||
| Mysore Mallige | 1991 | Sudharani’s Father | Kannada |
| Nehru: The Jewel of India | 1990 | ||
| Santha Shishunala Sharifa | 1990 | Govindabhatta | Kannada |
| Mil Gayee Manzil Mujhe | 1989 | ||
| Prathama Ushakirana | 1989 | Doctor | Kannada |
| Akarshan | 1988 | ||
| Kaadina Benki | 1988 | Kannada | |
| Sutradhar | 1987 | Zamindar | |
| Naan Adimai Illai | 1986 | Rajinikanth’s Father-in-law | |
| Neela Kurinji Poothappol | 1986 | Appu Menon | Malayalam |
| Sur Sangam | 1985 | Pandit Shivshankar Shastri | |
| Meri Jung | 1985 | Deepak Verma | |
| Zamana | 1985 | Satish Kumar | |
| Nenapina Doni | 1986 | Kannada | |
| Nee Thanda Kanike | 1985 | Dr. Vishnuvardhan’s Father | |
| Divorce | 1984 | ||
| Tarang | 1984 | Dinesh | |
| Anveshane | 1983 | Rotti | |
| Ek Baar Chale Aao | 1983 | Din Dayal | |
| Ananda Bhairavi | 1983 | Narayana Sarma | |
| Teri Kasam | 1982 | Rakesh | |
| Aparoopa | 1982 | ||
| Umbartha | 1982 | Advocate Subhash Mahajan | Marathi |
| Shama | 1981 | Nawab Yusuf Khan | |
| Apne Paraye | 1980 | Harish | Hindi |
| Man Pasand | 1980 | Kashinath | |
| Aasha | 1980 | Deepak | |
| Beqasoor | 1980 | Dr. Anand Bhatnagar | |
| Ratnadeep | 1979 | ||
| Sampark | 1979 | Heera | |
| Sandharbha | 1978 | Psychiatrist | Kannada |
| Jeevan Mukt | 1977 | Amarjeet | |
| Swami | 1977 | Ghanshyam | Hindi |
| Manthan | 1976 | Dr.Rao | |
| Nishaant | 1975 | Schoolmaster | |
| Jadu Ka Shankh | 1974 | ||
| Vamsha Vriksha | 1971 | Raju(lecturer ) | |
| Samskara | 1970 | Praneshacharya |
Reference :
Wikipedia
Profile of Girish Karnad
(Note : Incomplete, still working on this page)
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