Noted actor, dramatist and Jnanpith awardee Girish Karnad passed away in Bengaluru on Monday morning. Karnad was 81 and according to reports, he passed away following a prolonged illness. He rose as a Kannada playwright in the 1960s and then went on to become a critically acclaimed actor and filmmaker as well. Besides the Jnanpith award, Karnad was also conferred the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan.
In 1970, Karnad made his debut as an actor and screenwriter with the Kannada film Samskara, based on a novel by UR Ananthamurthy. The film won the first President’s Golden Lotus Award for Kannada cinema. Karna was popularly known for playing Swami’s father in the TV series Malgudi Days based on RK Narayan’s books, which aired on Doordarshan.
The author and playwright also hosted a weekly science program on the Doordarshan titled Turning Point.
Girish Karnad wrote his first play Yayati (1961), while still at Oxford. The play centred around a mythological king. Karnad’s next play Tughlaq (1964) narrates the story of the 14th-century sultan Muḥammad bin Tughluq and it remains among the best-known of his works.
In Hindi cinema, Karnad appeared in films such as Shyam Benegal’s Nishant and Manthan. The actor did not shy away from popular Bollywood cinema either. Karnad was last seen in Salman Khan’s hit films - Ek Tha Tiger and Tiger Zinda Hai.
Outside of his work on stage, Karnad openly condemned violence against writers and journalists in India. A year after the murder of Gauri Lankesh, he attended an event with a placard around his neck that read, “#MeTooUrbanNaxal.” He also took part in protests in Bengaluru after Lankesh’s death as well as protests against the murder of academic MM Kalburgi.
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