Girish Karnad 95 Views
Very rarely a nation is blessed with a person of the calibre of Girish Karnad. A Rhodes Scholar, playwright, theatre director, actor, writer, a Fulbright playwright in residence, Director of FTII, Chairman of Sangeet Natak Academy, winner of the Jnanpith Award. Finally, an activist.
Born on May 19, 1938 at Matheran, he studied in Karnataka University and Magdelene College, Oxford, Girish Karnad was not just multi talented in different creative fields but more importantly, in one word, he was learned. His deep study in Indian mythologies and history resulted in his works many of which were not just experimental, their ethos ran deep. ,
We can choose any or all of the above or any combination of the various aspects of his life to talk about Girish Karnad, but in SMF we will restrict it to films.
Karnad made his debut in films by acting in Samaskara in Kannada and thereafter acted in Hindi, Marathi, Telugu, Assamese, Malayalam and Tamil films. Among his major Hindi films were Nishaant, Manthan, Iqbal, Ek Tha Tiger. He also acted as Swamy’s father in the iconic TV serial Malgudi Days.
Girish Karnad has also directed almost a dozen films in various languages which include Godhuli and Utsav in Hindi
Among the major plays written by him include Yayati, Tughlaq, Hayavadana, Nagamandala, Fire and the Rain.
He passed away on June 10, 2019 at the age of 81.
