Mangaluru: Legendary actor, writer, filmmaker and playwright Girish Karnad passed away on June 10 in his Bengaluru residence due to age-related issues. The whole country, from politicians to members of the film fraternity mourned the loss of a great thinker, activist and human.
Twitter was flooded with condolences for his departed soul and media was filled with tributes to the great soul. His fellow writers and theatre artistes have also offered their tribute and expressed their grief at the loss.
Pradeep Kumar Kalkura, DK district president of Kannada Sahitya Parishat said, “There is no doubt that Girish Karnad helped Kannada plays attain such heights at both the national and international levels. His contribution to theatre and literature was immense. His efforts to integrate traditional and modern theatre stand out as one of the major contributions to contemporary Kannada literature and culture. However, his views and statements on religion had hurt many people. I don’t agree with his views on religion, which he expressed by calling himself a progressive thinker.”
Prof B A Vivek Rai, Hampi Kannada University former vice chancellor and writer said that Karnad was one of the greatest playwrights who gave a new dimension to Kannada plays. “He did some wonderful work by using history and mythology to comment on the contemporary. As a writer, I find him more relevant to the new facet of Kannada literature. I remember an incident when Karnad came to Mangalore University to give a special lecture in 1991. It was a very effective lecture. I had the pleasure of meeting him on a few occasions in Bengaluru during some literary programmes and speaking with him.
Jeevanram Sullia, theatre artiste said, “It is a huge loss to both the theatre and film industries. Being an actor, director and playwright, he contributed much to society. He was on par with famous playwrights like Shakespeare and Brecht. I became a theatre artiste only after performing in his play “Nagamadala”. I also performed in his other notable play “Tughlaq”. He was a very simple man and would support even the junior artists, something which is very rare these days. I remember he expressed his happiness at the play ‘Dham Dhoom Suntaragali’ which I directed and staged at Rangashankara in Bengaluru. It is very sad to hear of his sudden demise.”
