Award winning playwright and veteran actor Girish Karnad passes away!

A skilled actor/director and Jnanpith award-winning playwright Girish Karnad passed away at 81. The veteran actor died at his residence in Bengaluru early Monday morning.

The brilliant actor and a man of many talents, Girish served to be one of the most prominent playwright for decades and is known to tackle contemporary issues resonating in plays like Tughlaq and Hayavadana.

The actor marked his name in the niche cinema sector but has also etched his identity in the mainstream films in multiple languages.

He was conferred the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan by the Government of India and has won four Filmfare Awards, of which three are Filmfare Award for Best Director – Kannada and the fourth a Filmfare Best Screenplay Award.

In retrospect, Girish Raghunath Karnad was born in Matheran, in present-day Maharashtra, in 1938. After working at the Oxford University Press, Kolkata, he decided to become a full-time writer.

The actor made his directorial debut in Vamsha Vriksha (1971), based on a Kannada novel by SL Bhyrappa. It won him National Film Award for Best Direction along with BV Karanth, who co-directed the film. Later, Karnad directed several movies in Kannada and Hindi, including Godhuli (1977) and Utsav (1984).

Girish Karnad served as director of the Film and Television Institute of India (1974–1975) and chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, the National Academy of the Performing Arts (1988–93).

Apart from that Girish Karnad was the leading personality in Television, documentaries, and Indian film industry.