If you ask an average movie-buff who is Girish Karnad, he would probably scratch his head but ask a lover of literature and she’ll tell you he is a playwright, writer, director and a translator. Many people in Tamil Nadu would only recall him when a photograph of him is shown. Known mostly in our state for his portrayal of Sushmita Sen’s father in the movie ‘Ratchagan’, Karnad, as Kajol’s dad in ‘Minsara Kanavu’, Girish Karnad and Nagma’s dad in ‘Kadhalan’, he was more than all that. He was one of India’s iconic & influential dramatists, philosopher, scholar, visionary and was a brave critic of hate politics.
His plays such as Hayavadana, Nagamandala and Tughlaq are a part of the curriculum of myriad colleges and prestigious universities in India. He was born in Maharastra in May 1938 and he moved to Karnataka when he was 14. He was inspired by theatrical plays and he soon started expressing interest in arts.
He did his Bachelor’s degree in Karnataka University and through Rhodes scholarship he went to do his higher studies in Oxford. He even became a visiting professor in the University of Chicago. He has served as a director in several Kannada Movies & few Hindi movies; and his movies have been awarded Filmfare awards.
He has also received the prestigious Padma Shri and Padma Bushan awards besides taking home the Jnanpith Award for his literary contributions. He was very vocal against people with separatist and one-upmanship.
He died on June 10, 2019 after multiple organ failure in his residence in Bengaluru. Such a bright star and a true son of India; you should remember his name -Girish Karnad.
On the very same day he passed away, another iconic stage-actor, playwright, movie dialogue writer and comedian died and the awareness about him was higher in Tamil Nadu than Karnad’s. Of course I am taking about Crazy Mohan. A majority of Tamilians had less idea about Karnad and more about Mohan, for one major reason – Mohan was a popular Tamil celebrity while Karnad was not known to many.
The day when the people of Tamil Nadu start to show more interests in visionaries than they show on celebrities will be the day the state will have a vision as a whole.