Girish Karnad and his works in Kannada film industry

Girish Karnad is an actor, film director, writer who had predominantly worked in Kannada and Hindi film industry. Karnad is not only dedicated to the film industry but also a Kannada laureate who has won India’s most prominent literature award - Jnanpith Award in 1988. Girish Karnad has directed and acted in many films. The prominent personality breathed his last today at the age of 81. Let's take a look at the films directed by Girish Karnad

'Vamsha Vriksha' is a 1972 film directed by Girish Karnad and B.V. Karanth, based on the novel written by S.L. Bhyrappa with the same name. The movie starred Vishnuvardhan and Uma Shivakumar in the lead roles. The film has also been remade in Telugu. The movie talks about the progressive rights of women and how it should be helpful to women. The film won the National Film Award for Best Direction.

Kaadu is a 1973 film based on the novel of the same name written by Srikrishna Alanahalli. Master G. S. Nataraj, Amrish Puri, and Nandini Bhaktavatsala have played the lead roles in the film. The movie is based on a boy and a couple. A boy named Kitti was adopted by his uncle and bought to the village from the city. Kitti gets close to the aunty Kamali. But, his uncle has an affair with a lady in a nearby village. The film is about how the uncle's relationship will turn in a fight between the two villages. The film won many National Film Awards.

Tabbaliyu Neenade Magane is a 1977 film co-directed by Girish Karnad and B.V. Karanth based on the novel written by S.L. Bhyrappa with the same name. The movie has cast including Naseeruddin Shah, Lakshmi Krishnamurthy, Manu and Paula Lindsay in the lead roles. The movie is about an American woman who got married to an Indian man and settled in India. 'Tabbaliyu Neenade Magane' became the best parallel movies of those times and gained a lot of popularity for its making.

'Ondanondu Kaladalli' is a 1978 movie co-directed by Girish Karnad and Bhaskar Chandavarkar, starring Shankar Nag and Sundar Krishna Urs in the lead role. The movie is inspired by a Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa. The film is about a man who earned a job in the army after saving wounded soldiers in an incident. He takes his brother to the army and tries to kill him, in the process he dies. The movie won 1978 National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada and other awards.

Cheluvi is a 1992 film directed by Girish Karnad. The movie starred Girish Karnad, Sonali Kulkarni, Prashant Rao, and Gargi Yakkundi in the lead roles. The film is about a girl Cheluvi who is a young woman and has magical power and turns into a tree and gives out beautiful flowers. Soon, her magic will be spotted and revealed by the son of the village head. The film earned National Film Award for Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation for Girish Karnad.

'Kanooru Heggadithi' is a 1999 movie based on 1936 novel ‘Kanooru Subbamma Heggadithi’ written by Kuvempu. The film is about a woman who becomes the third wife of a man. The film starred Girish Karnad and Tara in the lead roles. The movie showed the real power of women.