Girish Karnad Family Marriage Wife Photos Biography Profile Biodata Age Height Details
Name Girish Karnad
Date of Birth: 19-05-1938
Age: 79
Height
Father Rao Saheb Dr Karnad
Mother Krishna Bai Mankeekara
Wife Saraswathy Ganapathy
Son:
Siblings:
Daughter:
Address
Residence
Occupation Actor, Director, Writer
Girish Raghunath Karnad (born 19 May 1938) is an Indian actor, film director, dramatist writer and scholar Rhodes, who works mainly in South Indian cinema and Bollywood. His rise as a playwright in the 1960s marked the advent of modern Indian dramatic writing in Kannada, as did Badal Sarkar in Bengali, Vijay Tendulkar in Marathi and Mohan Rakesh in Hindi. He is the recipient of the 1998 Jnanpith Award, the highest literary award in India.
For four decades, Karnad has composed plays, often using history and mythology to tackle contemporary problems. He translated his plays into English and was acclaimed. His plays have been translated into Indian languages and directed by directors such as Ebrahim Alkazi, BV Karanth, Alyque Padamsee, Prasanna, Arvind Gaur, Satyadev Dubey, Vijaya Mehta, Shyamanand Jalan, Amal Allana and Zafer Mohiuddin. He is active in the Indian film world as an actor, director and screenwriter in Hindi and Kannada cinema, winning awards along the way. He received Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan from the Government of India and won four Filmfare awards, three of which are the Filmfare Award for Best Director - Kannada and the fourth award for Best Screenplay.
Early life and education
Girish Karnad was born in Matheran, Maharashtra in a family of Konkani from Saraswat Brahmin (SB), to Rao Saheb Dr Karnad and Krishna Bai Mankeekara. Krishna Bai was a widow and served as a housewife for Rao Saheb and his wife bedridden for about five years. Rao Saheb and Krishna Bai were married according to the Arya Samaj tradition. His initial education was in marathi. In Sirsi, Karnataka, he was exposed to traveling theater groups, Natak Mandalis, his parents being very interested in their plays. Young, Karnad was an ardent admirer of Yakshagana and the theater of his village. His family moved to Dharwad in Karnataka at the age of 14, where he grew up with his two sisters and his niece.
Karnad graduated in mathematics and statistics from Karnatak Arts College in Dharwad (Karnataka University) in 1958, studied philosophy, politics and economics at Magdalen in Oxford as a Rhodes scholar (1960-1963) Master of Arts in Philosophy, Political Science and Economics. Karnad was elected president of the Oxford Union in 1963.
Private life
Karnad is married to Dr. Saraswathy Ganapathy and they have two children. He lives in Bangalore. Girish Karnad, working in Madras for Oxford University Press on his return from England, met his future wife Saraswathi Ganapathy at a party. They decided to marry but the marriage was formalized after 10 years, when Karnad was 42 years old. Saraswathi was born to a mother parsie, Nargis Mugaseth and a father Kodava, Kodandera Ganapathy.
Awards and honours
Sangeet Natak Akademi award and Varthur navya Award – 1972
Padma Shri – 1974
Padma Bhushan – 1992
Kannada Sahitya Parishat Award – 1992
Sahitya Academy award – 1994
Jnanpith Award – 1998
Kalidas Samman – 1998
1971: Best Direction: Vamsha Vriksha (with B. V. Karanth)
1971: Best Feature Film in Kannada: Vamsha Vriksha
1973: Second Best Feature Film: Kaadu
1977: Best Feature Film in Kannada: Tabbaliyu Neenade Magane[
1978: Best Screenplay: Bhumika (with Shyam Benegal and Satyadev Dubey)
1978: Best Feature Film in Kannada: Ondanondu Kaladalli
1989: Best Non-Feature Film: Kanaka Purandara
1990: Best Non-feature Film on Social Issues: The Lamp in the Niche
1992: Best Film on Environment Conservation: Cheluvi
1999: Best Feature Film in Kannada: Kaanuru Heggadathi
1972: Filmfare Award for Best Director - Kannada – Vamsha Vriksha
1974: Filmfare Award for Best Director - Kannada – Kaadu
1978: Filmfare Award for Best Director - Kannada – Ondanondu Kaladalli
1980: Filmfare Best Screenplay Award: Godhuli (with B. V. Karanth)
1980: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award: Aasha: Nominated
1982: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award: Teri Kasam : Nominated
1971-72 First Best Film – Vamsha Vriksha
1971-72 Best Dialogue Writer – Vamsha Vriksha
1973-74 Second Best Film – Kaadu
1989-90 Best Supporting Actor – Santha Shishunala Sharifa
1995-96 Best Supporting Actor – Sangeetha Sagara Ganayogi Panchakshara Gavai
1999-00 Second Best Film – Kanooru Heggadithi
Karnad served as the director of the Film and Television Institute of India from 1974–1975, the Indian co-chairman for the Joint Media Committee of the Indo-US Sub-Commission on Education and Culture from 1984–1993, chairman of the Sangeet Natak Academy from 1988–1993, and president of Karnataka Nataka Academy from 1976–1978.
Honorary Doctorate from University of Southern California, Los Angeles – 2011
