By Jagmohan Singh Barhok

On His Birth Anniversary

Girish Karnad, unarguably is one of the most prolific writer, playwright, actor & director down South, predominantly contributing to Kannada films. The Jnanpith Awardee director also had his contribution to Hindi cinema. Two of his directorial ventures- “Godhuli”( 1977) starring Nasiruddin Shah, Lakshmi Krishnamurthy, Paula Lindsay, & Om Puri & “Utsav” (1984) featuring Rekha, Shashi Kapoor, Amzad Khan, Shankar Nag, Shekhar Suman & Anuradha Patel received worldwide recognition. The latter won National Award for Best Art Direction including Filmfare Best Playback Singer (Anuradha Paudwal ) & Lyricist Award to Vasant Dev (“Mann Kyun Behka”). The former also won Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay Awarded jointly to Girish Karnad and B.V. Karanth.

Girish Karnad performed wonderfully in many Hindi films, too, like “Nishaant” (1975), “Manthan (1976)”, “Swami” (1977) including parallel-cinema specialist Nagesh Kukunoor’s “Iqbal”(2005) & “Aashayein” (2010). He was acclaimed for his role in “Ek Tha Tiger” (2012) and its sequel “Tiger Zinda Hai” (2017) produced under the banner Yash Raj Films.

Considered to be Doyen of Kannada films also called Sandalwood, the veteran actor-director was bestowed with many accolades including Jnanapith Award, the highest literary award conferred in India, & Padma Shri (1974) & Padma Bhushan (1992).

He also won 9 National Film Awards for his regional films & 1 for “Bhumika” (1978) starring Smita Patil, Anant Nag & Amol Palekar. He also won Sahitya Academy award in 1992 including 4 Filmfare Awards (South). Received Nominations for “Aasha” & “Teri Kasam” as Best Supporting Actor in 1980 & 1982 respectively.

Interestingly his other two films a an actor “Swami” (1977) opposite Shabana Azmi & “Manthan”(1976) opposite Smita Patil were also highly acclaimed by critics for their presentation & contents. The former won two Filmfare Awards & the latter two National & one Filmfare Award respectively. “Manthan” stars – Girish Karnad, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah, Mohan Agashe, Anant Nag & Amrish Puri .The film highlights the plight of villagers by those influential, cunning & in power. The film was funded by farmers each contributing rupee two. It also highlights how influential people fool and exploit the simple people in the villages of the country. Directed by Shyam Benegal, “Manthan ” is a Must watch ‘mind blowing’ film, especially for those who believe in watching realistic movies with a message.

I met the veteran playwright during the making of “Utsav” & later attended the Press Meet. Girish Karnad was always held in high esteem by his co stars.

Born this Day at Matheran in Bombay in 1938.