A man with Midas Touch Upendra,the director

Upendra, fascinating story of a street boy who rose to fame as a writer,director,actor by his unconventional presentation,weird mannerisms,lots of controversies,anti women remarks,weird lyrics etc..etc..He debuted to silver screen as a director through a extremely low budget  comedy movie "Tarle Nan Maga" after assisting master of low budget flicks Kashinath in many movies.He also wrote lyrics to some of his movies,besides acting in small roles.

His debut movie is memorable for its wacky comedy,double meaning dialogues,and funny man Jaggesh(incidentally it was his first movie as a hero).Recently i watched the movie and laughed,laughed and laughed.But before watching the movie one should keep his brain in the house because there is no much logic in the movie,only magic.It was a box office success.

Then next he made a cult horror movie called Ssshhh!!!.What a movie it was,simply superb.Again a low budget movie with lots of chills and thrills.It was 1992 and Upendra got critical acclaim as well as a super hit movie to his credit.It almost changed this dudes life from a street boy to a most promising directors of Kannada film industry.The movie revolves around a movie crew and a estate called Onti mane Estate which means Single house estate.The movie was made with a debutant actor who also produced the movie.

It was the time when budding journalist Ravi Belegere used to write articles on Bengaluru underworld by meeting rowdies in wee hours.Greatly inspired by that articles,Upendra made a script on an underworld subject based on a real life incident that happened in Bengaluru.He wanted to make the movie with the actor of his previous movie Sshhh but somehow met Parvatamma Rajkumar,the leading lady of Kannada cinema.She liked the script immensley and agreed to produce the movie.Lead actor was her first son most happening actor of that time(still he is) Shivarajkumar and the masterpiece made its way to silver screen.This movie quiet literally caught the attention of the nation(after this movie he got an offer from ABCL which he couldnt complete due to his other commitments).As far as i know it was the first movie which exposed the underworld to movie audience in India.Rgv's Sathya came later,only Nayagan is the notable film which came with an underworld subject but it was completely different.Nayagan is Godfather kind of movie and this movie is Scarface kind of movie.One is political and this one is pakka street.He made real underworld goons to act in the movie and its name is Om..Later remade or inspired kind of movies came in many languages but nothing matched the original.Even after 15 years,the satellite rights of the movie have not been sold.Still people flock to the theaters whenever it releases,it re released almost 8 times!!!and last time with digitally remastered print.

Then he made a forgettable movie called 'Operation Antha' sequel to yesteryear classic 'Antha' which made huge waves in early 80's and made Ambarish a star.It was a good concept but somehow he failed to bring it on screen,i think because of budget constraints.Trust me,Tamil blockbuster Anniyan movie had atleast 3 to 4 scenes which is almost similar to this movie.Both the movie dealt with corruption.

And then he made a huge mistake by acting and directing in a movie called A which became huge hit both in Karnataka and Andhra and he established himself as a lead actor.And he slowly concentrated on acting.There is no doubt that this movie is one of his best but it killed his love towards real cinema.Later in his acting career he almost lost his magic touch and lost his fan following but earned a lot of money.Back to this movie,one of my favourite movies of all time.The movie came with a tag line Only for intellectuals.So the name of the movie is A only for intellectuals.A is the cencor board certificate given in India for R rated movies and he used it in a positive way(yes he is creative and knows how to sell his movies).Screenplay is ultimate,it is like non linear screenplay just like Pulp Fiction yet appealed to mass audience.It was controversial because of anti women remarks.

Then he made Upendra movie,also a controversial and super hit movie but it was almost like a continuation of  a character that comes in his previous movie A.This movie got released in dubbed and released in Japan.I heard one Japanese guy watched this movie in Bangalore and impressed by it as he felt story is similar to Buddha who leaves all the worldly pleasures at the end.Again a big hit and in between he made another movie called Swastik but failed.Raghavendra Rajkumar is the lead actor,even this brilliant Upendra couldnt help to relaunch his sinking career.

  
Then he acted in many crappy movies and wrote stories for some movies but most of them are not worth mentioning.One movie called Hollywood is worth mentioning here.Even it dealt with a human android robot like Endhiran,a hugely successful Tamil movie.Both movies had almost same plot.Somebody else directed it and was a box office bomb but is memorable for sci-fi subject and use of animatronic technology and it was completely shot in Hollywood,California.Anyway Kannada film industry cant afford a huge budget but still it was a very good effort.

Now he is back to direction after a hiatus of 10 years with 'Symbol' or Super,or whatever people call it.The movie has no name but a symbol which is similar to Dhyana Mudra.(Once again he proved he is extremely creative).Heard it is a Psychological thriller(or is it futuristic movie) which is releasing on December 03 which is today.Hope to see something crazy as well as creative.It is a trilingual movie made in Kannada,Telugu and Tamil.Kannada version is releasing first and others follow it later.

For me he is one of the finest directors of India and a great thinker,philosopher(his dialouges used to have philosophical over tones) creative and unique.Its almost impossible to think like him,most of his ideas proved it,especially names and posters of his movies.He is the master of tricks,marketing and gimmicks.Now its a trend to make gimmicks before releasing a movie which he used to do long time back.But now the question is,can we see Upendra Mania once again?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1oisbI5GRA

My affair with Cinema

I was born in a small village in South Karnataka in a middle class family amidst western ghats where it rains heavily in rainy season and also screws you badly in summer.The land where watching movies is almost a taboo especially in middle class family,the land where education is the most important aspect of life(Yes it has number of colleges and can see students from all parts of the world in Mangalore).It is called as Buddivantara Naadu which means Land of Intellectuals(though it is losing its tag especially after the pub attack).No wonder its education rate is far above the national average.It is also called as the Cradle of  Indian banking as most of the nationalised banks like Canara Bank, Corporation Bank, Syndicate Bank, Vijaya Bank are evolved here.Manipal,one of the foremost universities, evolved in this place.In spite of growing in this place,studying in school or college didnt really attract me as much as cinema or literature.

My affair with cinema dates back to late 80's and early 90's.Some times around 88 or 89 all of our family members got together(may be for a special occassion) and brought a television and vcr for rent and watched 100 days Hindi movie,Kamal Hassan starrer silent movie Pushpaka Vimana and i think Rajkumar's Babruvahana.It was the time when one of  my uncles bought a tv for the first time and my day used to start with it and end with it.I still remember some of the tv shows,i watched in those days mainly Zee horror show,Antakshari and also still remember watching Hoga Tumse Pyaara Kaun(Rishi Kapoor dancing on the top of a train) song .In early days there was no Kannada channel and we all were waiting to catch a Kannada movie on Sundays in Doordarshan.It was playing one regional movie on Sundays back then.Life was super cool and very simple back then.Very nostalgic.My mother always remembers how she used to take me to my neighbours house to watch Mahabharat in late 80's.I also have a pale memory of watching Premaloka movie,my sister in law was crazy about that movie.And may be.As far as i remember that was my first affair with cinema. 

And later when i went to boarding school for primary education,i met people grown under different cultures,guys from different parts of the state.It is here i really started to talk about cinema though i didnt get an opportunity to watch any movies.By that time my father bought a television and in holidays i used to eat,drink and sleep in front of it.I watched many Kannada flicks mostly Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan's movies at that time, but i dont remember most of it now.As a kid i liked some of the children's movies of teen aged Arjun Sarja(Now big star in Tamil who is known as Arjun) who used to flex his well toned muscles and show his martial arts abilities(Yes he is black belt in Karate).He was hero for me back then,(ya,after seeing this guy i came to know about Bruce Lee).Then when i was in 1st standard or something i heard about a movie called Jurassic Park.I was desperate to watch it.Most of my friends who watched it used to say about a special animal called Dinosauras.In holidays watched it finally and thus it became my first English movie.As far as i remember,it was Hindi dubbed version.I almost cried in fear when i watched it in school i became one of the proud and elite members who watched a English movie.Also watched another children's film in Kannada which i remember still is Chinnari Muttha.It rocked my imagination.

Pulp fiction
In primary school days i heard another English movie's name but couldnt watch it at that time is Titanic.Year after year i became a huge movie buff.At that time i was a big fan of Hollywood action flicks especially Jackie Chan,Stallone,Arnold.Also watched a lot of sci fi movies just because it used to have a lot of graphics.Once me along with many friends from hostel went to watch Jackie Chan's First Strike movie after 10pm without telling our warden.There was a mini theater called Vasanth Video Vision in my native town.They used to play every movie from pirated cd's and it was a movie hub for us back then.Me along with many hostel mates watched a lot of movies in that theater. In high school or college i preffered to watch Hindi and some English action flicks.I liked watching posh locales,body builders type of men and hot chicks of Hindi cinema.Very hardly i used to watch Kannada movies,but i was a huge fan of Upendra and watched his classic A in tv.His rebellious attitude,philosophical dialouges,awkward looks, unconventional themes attracted me a lot.Then one fine day i watched making of Matrix movie and that made me to think about film making.

Song from Upendra movie
Then i landed in Bangalore to study Animation and that further made me to think seriously about films.I started to watch movie like a critic,started to criticize lot of Indian cinema.This period of my life will remain as one of the most memorable time of my life.We used to watch at least one movie daily,got exposure to other regional language films,became die hard movie buff.Also started to sit in cyber shops browsing about movies and that made me a  internet addict(nowadays its hard to live without internet).Then came Mungaru Male,a movie which revived my interest in Kannada cinema.It came like a breeze,became a storm and smashed all the box office records.Now i am one of the keen follower of Kannada cinema as well as Hollywood,Bollywood and also other woods.

I spend most of my earnings to buy Dvd's and books or spend it to buy movie tickets.I want to make a huge Dvd library,now i have a collection of Kurosowa's Japanese movies,some other Western classics,Indian classics,one Italian movie.I watch lots of Korean movies and also a huge fan of Quentin Tarantino whose movies always gets on your nerves.But for me he is the best.Now dont say i should be jerk to love his movies.Actually you know what,i dont give a damn.

"Be afraid... Be very afraid."

"Three years ago, three of my colleagues were investigating what happened in that house. Two died mysteriously. The third was never found".This is the dialouge from one of the scariest movies i have ever seen till now.I hardly watch horror movies because i am not comfortable watching it alone and it brings me nightmares.But fortunately or unfortunately i watched Grudge when i was studying in Bangalore and it really scared the hell out of me.The quote 'it never forgets and it never forgives' just brings me chill in the spine.Frankly ,the movie haunted me for many days.

Actually it is the remake of Japanese movie Ju-on The Grudge directed by Takashi Shimizu and the remake too is directed by him and must say he did a great job.Ghost is almost similar to The Ring movie,white face,long hairs,similar kind of costumes.I think every Japanese ghost looks like that (Ha..ha...ha..).

The movie is narrated through non linear sequence of events and the story unfolds through flashbacks. The protagonist (Sarah Michelle Gellar)  enters a house to take care of a old women faces the curse of the ghost.The ghost will kill whoever enters the house knowingly or unknowingly to avenge the its death.(bad ghost huuh...)She tries every method to escape from the ghost but in vain.It finally kills her husband and bunch of others including a police officer who is investigating the case of the mysterious deaths in the house.But the Sarah somehow escapes from the ghost but gets killed in the sequel.The squealing voice of the ghost is the best part of the movie.Hats off to the person who dubbed the voice,she did a great job in scaring me and my room mates and may be many more people around the globe.

Without doubt it is a very good movie in my point of view but please stop making horror movies because it scares the shit out of me(especially Korean and Japanese).I heard Tale of Two Sisters is a very good movie and i am trying hard to ignore it.

My Analysis

There are numerous articles on this iconic actor,singer,producer,fitness freak(yes he is.He did Yoga almost all his life and i think he knew better about fitness.He was like John Wayne u know!!!) and above all great human being.So rather than writing it once again, i will write about his best but lesser known movies.It was a trend back in 70's and 80's,the golden age of Kannada Cinema to make movies on Kannada novels and almost 70% of Rajkumar's movies are borrowed from novels.And needless to say most are huge hits and inspired many film makers of that era.His Kasturi Nivasa tempted  legendery Sivaji Ganeshan and acted in the Tamil version,Bhakta Kumbara,a devotional masterpeice was remade into Telugu by Akkineni Nageshwara Rao and couldnt stop praising Rajkumar for his acting.Back then it was called Rajkumar era.
So my top 5 movies out of his 207 movies are

5.Gandhadagudi(Temple of Sandalwood):Only film in which both Dr.Rajkumar and Dr.Vishnuvardhan acted together.Saw this movies way back in 90's in T.V. and i was pretty impressed at that time.It is the story of  a range forest officer and his estranged brother.The film was shot in the amidst of Bandipur and Nagarahole forest.Now movie is known for 2 reasons one is for its song which will be heard in almost every orchestro or every festival even after more than 30 years.And this movie is most famously known for a controversy which almost ruined the life of Vishnuvardhan.He was accused of shooting Rajkumar with loaded gun and media highlighted the incident.It enraged the fans of Rajkumar and thus Vishnuvardhan had to face a lot of humiliation.Anyway it was a cool movie with lots of action and adventure.

4.Jeevana Chaitra:This movie was released in the year 1992 and it marked the re-entry of Rajkumar to the cinema after 3 years.The movie created ripples at that time and many people forcibly shut down liquor shops across the state.Needless to say this movie is a fight of a common man against a liquor baron who is the father in law of his own son.This movie won him a National Award for Best Singer for the song ''Nadamaya''  which is shot in Himalayas and in the song Rajkumar is wearing only a dhoti and skimpy shirt.He is barefooted in the song too.I heard its fimmaker saying he walked barefooted and remained with the same costumes throughout the shooting of the song and didnt complain.I wonder where this Yoga can take a human being!!!!!

3.Kasturi Nivasa:It is refferred as one of the greatest Kannada movie of all time.It is the story of a rich buisnessman who lost his loved ones.It shows the dishonesty of greedy human beings.A simple story but well narrated with great meaningful songs and amazing acting by Rajkumar.

2.Naandi(The begining):I didnt see this movie but its theme fascinated me.I read a article when Hindi movie ''Black'' was released.It was about a movie called Naandi which won National Award way back in 60's and the article said it was almost similar to Blcak movie.The story is how a husband mentors his deaf and dumb wife.Really people used to make nice sensible movies at that time.Kudos to the whole team.

1.Mayura:A hard hitting patritoc periodic movie.Mayura is the founder of Kadamba kingdom and this movie is based on a novel.The story is almost similar to Mel Gibson's Braveheart,one man's fight against a kingdom.Though history says Mayura was a Brahmin scholar who faced humiliation in the court of Pallavas and to avenge his humilation he took sword and rebelled against the kingdom and finally defeated them.But the movie says slightly different story.Anyway for me its one of the best movies of Rajkumar and deserves a remake with lots of action,CG and adventure.It will be a nice periodic commercial pot boiler with lot of patriotic dialouges.

There are other movies which are worth a mention like Bangarada Manushya,Bidugade,Ranadheera Kanteerava,Krishnadevaraya.I like periodic movies because it needs a lot of research before writing the script and later designing the backdrop,armours,weapons,costumes.Wow!!! sounds interesting.Hell lot of a work but still cool!!!I hope someday the trend will come again.

A Rooster Which Layed Golden Eggs

He was one of the earliest film maker who created a concept of cinema that was both mainstream but touched sensible and taboo subjects.His films were praised by common audience as well as film critics.His movies were heavily based on Kannada novels as he was a voracious reader of Kannada literature.The man is legendery Puttanna Kanagal,who according to me is a finest film maker but didnt exposed much to the media.Though he created a niche for himself in 60's 70's and early 80's,now he is largely forgotten.

He worked as a cleaner,salesman and finally as a publicity boy which brought him close to cinema.He started working as a assistant to B.R.Pantalu,a yesteryear film maker and directed his first movie in Kannada Saavira Mettilu(Thousand Steps) which stopped in the middle but after his death it was completed by his student Ksl Swamy and released in 2006.And later he directed another movie called Belli Moda(Silver Cloud).It was critical and commercial success which starred one of the finest actress of Kannada screen iconic Kalpana.It was based on novel by well known Kannada writer Triveni.A song called Moodala Maneya which is adopted from Jnanapith Awardee Da.Ra.Bendre's poems captures the beauty of early morning.It is said Puttanna searched for many weeks to find the perfect location to shoot the song.

Later he made Mallammana Pavada,his first movie with Dr.Rajkumar which showed the plight of a women who is married to a mentally dull person.The movie was later remade in Tamil as Enga Chinna Rasa by Bhagyaraj and later into Hindi as Beta.

His third movie is Kappu Bilupu(Black and White) which is based on the novel by Aryambha Pattabhi which dealt with contrasting behaviors of identical, yet distinct pair of twins.A Cinderella like story which showed the triumph of good over bad.Again Kalpana won laurels for her performance.Many similar themed movies came later including Hema Malini's Seeta Aur Geeta.

He later made one of his best classics Gejje Pooje(Mock Marriage) which was again based on a novel by M.K.Indira.The story revolves around the daughter of a religious prostitutes called Devadasis(which prevailed in 70's 80,s especially in North Karnataka and some parts of Maharashtra).It showed how her lover abandons her by the socail pressure when she tells him the fact that she is the daughter of a devadaasi.

Another worth mentioning movie is Sharapanjara(Cage of Arrows) which dealt with woman's chastity, the problem of acceptability of mentally ill by the society and unfaithful husband.It was a runaway hit and known for glamorous costumes of lead actress Kalpana.This movie captivated her as a performer and a top heroine of her time.I saw a almost similar movie 15 Park Avenue by acclaimed Bengali film maker Aparna Sen.

And then came Nagarahaavu(Cobra) which launched superstar Vishnuvardhan as a hero which was based on two novels by writer Ta.Ra.Su.The movie was made in 1972 which revolves around a short tempered boy and his teacher.This movie is actually the original "Angry Young Man" kind of movie which was later popularised by Amitabh Bachan.A young man who rebels against caste system.It also showed the intellectual conflicts between the teacher and student.at the end master gets defeated by his beliefs towards society.I read somewhere that K.Balachander inspired from this and made a movie on based on a love between a Hindu and Christian girl as shown in this movie.Its also remarkable for the debut of another leading actor of Kannada cinema Ambarish in a small but powerful role.It was later remade in most languages including Hindi starring Rishi Kapoor.A particular shot in the movie which showed a slow motion as well as normal speed in single frame is the highlight which said to be first time in Indian screen.And also appearence of actress Jayanthi in one song as folk women warrior Obavva is unforgettable and achieved cult status.

Edakallu Guddada Mele(On top of Edakallu Hill) is another masterpiece by master film maker which showed the desperation of a young women whose husband becomes impotent after the a war.And the young women falls for her young neighbour who seduces her.Though it is dealt with extra marital relationship,there is no much uneasy moments in the cinema and even the family audience can enjoy the movie.A song 'Viraha nooru nooru taraha' is a classic and is quite often interjected in banter to express the estrangement.The movie is based on a Bharathi sutha's novel.
Before this movie Jayanthi was known for doing glamorous roles but this changed it all.

Upasane(Devotion)a musical extravaganza.The songs "bhaaratha bhooshira", "bhaavaveMba hoovu arali", "aachaaravillada naalige" are fantastic and evergreen.He roped in his lover and versatile actress Arathi in the lead role and later went on to make many movies with her.Its the story of a singer and her teacher.

Katha Sangama(Collection of Stories),as tittle says its collection of 3 stories.It starred Kalyan Kumar, Rajanikanth, Saroja Devi, Arathi.It is a experimental movie and was shot in black and white.

His other movies Bili Hendthi(White Wife) which showed Indian family's hesitation in accepting a white European woman as a daughter-in-law.College Ranga(The College Stage) is a typical teen movie which showed the college politics,campus,love etc.Paduvaaralli Pandavaru(Pandavas of Paduvaru Village) is a story of 5 rebellious youth who rebels against a village chief which was later remade in Telugu and Hindi by renowed cartoonist and Film maker Bapu.His other films are Dharmasere,Ranganayaki,Dharani Mandala Madhyadolage,Manasa Sarovara, Amrutha Ghalige,Masanada Hoovu.

Ranganayaki(The Heroine of the Stage) shows the nuance of Oedipus Complex.A young man falls in love with a older women only to realise later that it is her estranged mother.

Amrutha Ghalige dealt with teenage pregnancy.

Manasa sarovara one of the finest and best movies of Puttanna.It dealt with human psychology.The movie is important as this was made after a similar tragic incident in the life of Puttanna.Later that year Moondram Pirai released which had similar plot.Its song "Neene saakida gini"" is the reference to his own life.Movie is a tragedy but went on to be a superhit.He made this movie after he broke up with his lover Arathi who used him as a ladder to be a top actress.

His last movie Masanada Hoovu is a story of a girl who ends up in a brothel.Puttanna died before finishing the movie.

He also directed handful of Hindi,Tamil and Malayalam movies.He introduced   Vishnuvardhan,Ambarish,Rajanikanth,Vajramuni,Shridhar and many more actors.Well known Tamil direcor Bharathiraja was the assistant for him.And even Kamal Hasan worked as a assistant for him in one film.At the time of New Wave Cinema or Art Cinema,Puttanna's cinema stood apart.His cinemas were seen as a bridge between commercial cinema and alternate cinema.He was also well known for use of freeze shots.His movies were criticized for being too women centric and most of movies were based on novels.He died on 5 June 1985.And thus ended a great era of a great film maker.

A dreamer

The world of cinema is blessed by many great film makers who set a benchmark in film making.One such person is legendary Japanese director Akira Kurosowa,who holds a unique place among the film makers all over the world.

Akira Kurosowa was born in Tokyo,Japan and failed to get into a art college but joined Proletarian Artists' League and worked for some years for newspapers.Then later he joined as a assistant script writer to established film maker of that era Kajiro Yamamoto and learnt the art of film making.

Finally,he debuted as director from the movie Judo Saga in 1943 which was based on a novel by Tsuneo Tomita.It was well received during the time of World War 2.Then he made a movie with actor Toshiro Mifune called Drunken Angel and went on to make almost 9 films with him and most of them are considered as classics.Then he got international recognition from the movie Roshomon which won many awards including a special Oscar.IT also inspired so many film makers around the world.His movie Ikiru is another classic which further strengthened his stature as a genius film maker.

Then he made classic Seven Samurai which was followed by many Samurai movies.This movie inspired many film makers across the world.It got a Hollywood remake called The Magnificent Seven and Bollywood classic Sholay too is inspired by it and also another Bollywood movie called Khote Sikke copied from the great movie.Even literary giants like Girish Karnad inspired by it and made a movie called Ondanondu Kaladalli in Kannada language which was pretty good and appreciated.He completely changed the script to suit the local culture.

A Fistful of Dollars directed by Sergio Leone too is copied from his Yojimbo.It was again remade remade in 1996 as a gangster movie Last Man Standing, starring Bruce Willis.

Some of his other epic movies are Tora!Tora!Tora!,Kagemusha,Ran,Dreams,Throne of Blood.Some of his works are adopted from William Shakespere's dramas.Ran is adopted from King Lear and Throne of Blood is adopted from Macbeth.

Many great directors were influenced by his works including Andrei Tarkovsky,Ingmar Bergman,Roman Polanski,Steven Spielberg,Martin Scorsese,Coppola,George Lucas,Sergio Leone etc...Recently Anaheim University launched the Anaheim University Akira Kurosawa School of Film in the memory of him.

Black Friday

Black friday is one of the best movies i have ever witnessed in my life.After watching the movie i was one of the many fans of Anurag Kashyap and since then i am following his career like a loyal fan.That day i was just roaming around and went to my friend's place,they were watching some unknown movie called Black Friday.I just sat with them and watched the movie.Wow! it was just amazing!!

The movie is based on Black Friday - The True Story of the Bombay Bomb Blasts, a book written by S. Hussain Zaidi.Both the book and movie created a lot of controversy.Initially the movie was not allowed to screen but after two years of hiatus the movie finally got released.But the movie failed to attract the audience mainly because of lack of promotion.The movie is very realistically made,one chase scene of a suspect by police is very well made and shot in actual slums of Mumbai.(I felt like that is the actual slum).

The film was screend in many Film festivals and garnered positive reviews from most of the critics.It also won handful of awards.The performance of Kay Kay Menon is worth mentioning.The screenplay by Anurag is wonderful.It has an 86% fresh rating on very famous Roten Tomatoes website.British film maker Danny Boyle said that Black Friday is one of the inspiration for him to do Academy Award winner Slumdog Millionaire. And soundtrack of the movie is composed by one of the very earliest fusion band of India "Indian Ocean".The song "Bandeh" became immensely popular in India.The music too got critical appreciation as it is completely different from what an usual Indian movie offers.

But the movie is very underrated in India though it got recognition in foreign countries.

Walking Encyclopedia

A man of many faces.This is what i say when i remember of a great writer,thinker,environmentalist,philosopher,educator,artist,film maker,social activist and Yakshagana artiste(is a folk dance drama popular in coastal Karnataka).He is also one of the 7 Jnanpitha award winner for Kannada,a higest award given to any literary works by Govt. of India.

This genius born in Udupi district of coastal Karnataka in Brahmin family.He left his studies to participate in India's freedom fight.At the same time he started to write plays and novels.Later he wrote literary masterpieces like Marali Mannige,Chigurida Kanasu,Chomana Dudi,Mookajjiya Kanasugalu,for which he won Jnanapith award,Hucchu Manasina Hatthu Mukhagalu,an autobiography.Chomana Dudi and Chigurida Kanasu went on to be cinemas.Chomana Dudi movie won the Swarna Kamal,National Award for the best film in 1975.His contribution to Yakshagana is also remarkable.He tried to revive this semi-folk art and made some experiments in Yakshagana using Russian Ballet.He also tried his hand in painting,he wrote books on folks,science,fiction.He also wrote a book on birds at the age of 95!(Craazzzy huh!!!).Apart from the 47 novels, he also wrote 31 plays, 4 short stories, 6 books of essays and sketches,13 books on art, a standard treatise on the Yakshagana, a three volume book of knowledge for children, a four volume encyclopedia on science for grown ups, 240 children's books, six books on travel, two books on birds, three travelogues, an autobiography.He has 417 books to his credit.He also tried his hand in art and designed cover page for his books.

He won Jnanapitha award for his book 'Mookajjiya Kanasugalu' which means Dreams of mute gandmother.Hucchu Manasina Hatthu Mukhagalu is his autobiography and he also wrote second part of his autobiography called Smrathipataladinda.He built a toy train and it was the first toy train in Asia.He also won Padma Bhushan,the third highest civilian award but returned it in protest against emergency.He also won Swedish Academy award.He is also been awarded as one of the ten makers of India in last 60 years by CNN-IBN.About 87 books were written on him and he the only person in Asia on whom so many books have been written.He is the winner of Sahitya Akademi, as well as the Sangeet Natak Akademi also a Jnanpitha and Tulsi Samman.He also won doctarate from many universities in India.A rare achievement.He was rightly called "Walking Encyclopedia".


His son Ullas Karanth too is an environmentalist and tiger expert and working for Newyork based Wildlife Conservation Society.


This genius left his imprint on every cultural arena.This literary giant died in 1997 at the age of 95.He lived all his life quietly in Kota,a small village.Later shifted to Puttur.He never came to big cities in search of fame or money.But this great visionary,activist,humble human being plunged into politics and got defeated!!

Teesri Aankh

V.K.Murthy,the name mostly unfamiliar to many movie enthusiastics in India.For the record he is one of the eye of legendary Guru Dutt.He is the man who captured the beauty of Waheeda Rehman in Kagaz ke Phool.Yes,he is the cinematographer who started a new era in Indian cinema industry and now the first cinematographer to win Dadasaheb Phalke Award in India.

The first man to shot 75mm film in India deserved this award long ago.But happy to know that finally Govt.of India recognised the work of this great technician who gave new dimension to cinema.

A Kannada movie called "Hoovu Hannu" directed by S.V.Rajendra Singh Babu is well known for great songs sung by Dr.Rajkumar,SPB,C.Ashwath,thanks to the brilliant music by 'Naada Brahma' Hamsalekha had cinematography by Mr.Murthy for which he won an award from Karnataka Govt.The biography of V.K.Murthy named 'Bisilu Kolu' written by Uma Rao,(Kannada) was released in January 2006 at Bengaluru.

Congratulations Mr.Murthy for the award.