The world lost a visionary director, a versatile actor, a gifted writer and playwright when Girish Karnad breathed his last on June 10, 2019. The veteran actor died at 6.30 am at a Bengaluru hospital. The 81-year-old Karnad had penned more than a dozen plays in Kannada and English, directed 13 movies and acted in 97 films, five of which are yet to be released. We list out five of his greatest works that you should never miss:
Vamsha Vriksha (1971)
Vamsha Vriksha, Karnad's directorial debut, was a 1972 Indian Kannada-language co-directed with BV Karanth. The film won the National Film Award for Best Direction. It also won three Filmfare Awards in 1972. The film deals with the stereotypical Hindu society and tells the story of Shrinivasa Shrothri who has lost his son and his rebellious daughter-in-law.
Godhuli (1977)
Karnad co-directed Godhuli, a Hindi drama film, with B. V. Karanth, starring Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah in 1977. It talks about the clash of modernity with tradition in rural India that was concentrating on building a new nation at that point. It follows a modern agriculturist's journey back from the US with his American wife to his village. Godhuli was included in the 1984 International Film Festival of India (IFFI). It also won the Filmfare Award for Best Screenplay. The film was also made in Kannada — Tabbaliyu Neenade Magane.
Yayati (1961)
Yayati was published in 1961, at the age of 23 when he was in Oxford. It is based on the story of King Yayati, an ancestor of the Pandavas, cursed with premature old age by Shukracharya, because of his infidelity. The story ridicules the ironies of life through characters in Mahabharata. It became an instant success, immediately translated and staged in English and several other Indian languages
Tughlaq (1964)
Just after he returned from Oxford Karnad published Tughlaq. The thirteen-scene Kannada play is about the reign of Muhammad bin Tughlaq. Written in 1964 the play was critically acclaimed. It was enacted in English in Mumbai in 1970.
Nishant (1975)
Karnad worked with Amrish Puri, Shabana Azmi, Anant Nag, Sadhu Meher, Smita Patil and Naseeruddin Shah (In his film debut) in Shyam Benegal's 1975 drama Nishant. Vijay Tendulkar's original screenplay focuses on the power of the rural elite and the sexual exploitation of women, during the time of feudalism in India.
