Born in a Brahmin family, Girish Raghunath Karnad, was a well-known Indian actor, film director, Kannada writer, and playwright. He primarily worked in the South Indian film industry and Bollywood. Karnad pursued his Master of Arts degree in Philosophy, Political science and Economics from Oxford University where he was elected as the President of the Oxford Union in 1962-68. He was awarded Jnanith Award, the highest literary honour in India in 1998.
Girsh Karnad's Death Anniversary: A Look At His Lesser-Known Achievements
- The veteran writer composed many plays using history and mythology in order to tackle contemporary issues.
- Karnad has also worked as a presenter for a weekly science magazine programme “Turning Point” which used to air on Doordarshan in 1991.
- At the age of 22, Girish Karnad composed his first play, “Yayati” which became a huge success. It was later adapted by Satyadev Dubey and Amrish Puri was the lead actor in the same.
- Girish Karnad made his acting and screenwriting debut in 1970 in a Kannada movie, “Samskara”.
- He worked in various Bollywood movies including Ek Tha Tiger (2012) and in its sequel, Tiger Zinda Hai (2017). The veteran actor even did a voiceover of APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India, in the audiobook of Kalam’s autobiography.
He was appointed as the President of the Film and Television Institute of India in 1974. In the year 1988, He was appointed as the Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi where he served for almost 5 years.
He also served as the director of the Nehru Centre and as Minister of Culture in the Indian High Commission, London from 2000to 2003. In 2011, he received Honorary Doctorate from the University of South California, Los Angeles.
Besides these many accolades, Girish Karnad was also conferred the Padma Shree and Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.