Seen playing pivotal roles in box-office movies like Ek Tha Tiger, Tiger Zinda Hai, Girish Raghunath Karnad has come a long way in his life and career. As he celebrates his birthday tomorrow, here is a little tribute to him. We thought why not know this unsung actor better.
Born on 19 May 1938, Girish is an Indian actor, film director, Kannada writer playwright and a Rhodes Scholar. He had an edge in the realms of South Indian cinema and Bollywood.
His take on Indian playwriting in Kannada took him to the scales of success. He also translated plays into English. He was directed under big names like Ebrahim Alkazi, B. V. Karanth, Alyque Padamsee, Prasanna, Arvind Gaur, Satyadev Dubey, Vijaya Mehta, Shyamanand Jalan, Amal Allana and Zafer Mohiuddin.
He was felicitated with the Jnanpith Award in 1998. This award is considered as the highest literary honor in India. He was conferred Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan by the Government of India and won four Filmfare Awards. The three Filfar awards were for Best Director – Kannada and the fourth a Filmfare Best Screenplay Award.
He also worked with Oxford University Press, Chennai for seven years (1963–70), after which he resigned and made writing his full-time profession. Later, he decided to contribute to the field of creativity as visiting professor at the University of Chicago and Fulbright playwright-in-residence.
Later from 1974–1975, he served as director of the Film and Television Institute of India and chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, the National Academy of the Performing Arts. He also served as director of the Nehru Centre and as Minister of Culture, in the Indian High Commission, London.
His appearance in Bollywood movies is praised and critically-acclaimed by one and all. Intense roles involving country, terrorism, deceit, high power, bureaucracy are the many roles which Girish is most likely to be seen in Bollywood, just in tune with his past work.
