B. V. Karanth

Babukodi Venkataramana Karanth (ಬಾಬುಕೋಡಿ ವೆಂಕಟರಮಣ ಕಾರಂತ್ Kannada) (1928 - d. 1 September, 2002) was a much decorated film and theatre personality from India. Throughout his life he was director, actor and musician of modern Indian theatre and one of the pioneers of Kannada and Hindi new wave cinema.

He was an alumnus of the National School of Drama (1962) and later, its director. He has directed many successful plays and has directed award winning Kannada movies. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri.

Biography

Born in Manchi, a village in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada district, in 1928, Karanth's passion for theatre started at an early age. His first tryst with theater was when he was in standard III — he acted in "Nanna Gopala", a play directed by P.K. Narayana.

He then ran away from home and joined the legendary Gubbi Veeranna drama company where he worked alongside Dr. Rajkumar [cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/sep/03spec.htm|accessdate=2007-06-06|title=B V Karanth redefined Indian theater|quote=He ran away from home when he was a young boy and joined the famous Gubbi professional theatre company, where he was a contemporary of superstar Dr Rajakumar.] who also was starting out then as a novice.

Gubbi Veeranna sent Karanth to Banaras to do his Masters in Arts where he also underwent training in Hindustani music under Guru Omkarnath Thakur.

Thereafter, along with his wife, Prema Karanth, Karanth set up "Benaka", one of Bangalore's oldest theater groups. It is an acronym for Bengalooru Nagara Kalavidaru. Then, Prema took up a teaching job in Delhi and supported Karanth through the National School of Drama. He was to return the compliment after he graduated from the NSD, and eventually became its director.

He later graduated from the National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi, in 1962, then headed by Ebrahim Alkazi. Between 1969 and 1972, he worked as a drama instructor at the Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, New Delhi after which the couple returned to Bangalore. Here Karanth dabbled in some cinema as well as music and was involved with the likes of Girish Karnad and U R Ananthamurthy in these ventures.

He then returned to the NSD, this time as its Director in 1977. As the director of NSD, Karanth took theatre to far-flung corners of India. He conducted several workshops in places far away as Madurai in Tamil Nadu. After his stint as the director of NSD, the Madhya Pradesh government invited him to head the Rangamandal repertory under the aegis of the Bharat Bhavan. After rendering yoeman service to the theatre scene in Madhya Pradesh between 1981 and '86, Karanth returned to Karnataka.

In 1989, the Karnataka government invited him to set up a repertory in Mysore, which he named Rangayana and headed until 1995. [ [http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1920/stories/20021011005912100.htm A genius of theatre ] ]

Plays of B. V. Karanth

Karanth directed over a hundred plays, more than half of which were in Kannada with Hindi close behind. He also directed plays in English, Telugu, Malayalam, Punjabi, Urdu, Sanskrit and Gujarati. Hayavadana (by Girish Karnad), Kattale Belaku, Huchu Kudure, Evam Indrajit, Oedipus, Sankranti, Jokumara Swami, Sattavara Neralu, Huttava Bidare and Gokula Nirgamana are some of his most popular plays in Kannada. Of the forty or so plays he directed in Hindi, Macbeth (using the traditional Yakshagana dance drama form), King Lear, Chandrahasa, Hayavadana, Ghasiram Kotwal, Mrichha Katika, Mudra Rakshasa, and Malavikagni Mitra are some of the more popular ones. Karanth also reveled in directing children and directed several children plays like Panjara Shale, Neeli Kudure, Heddayana, Alilu Rama and The Grateful Man.

Benaka

In 1974, Karanth started "BeNaKa" a repertory in Bangalore. Benaka was an acronym for "Bengalooru Nagara Kalavidaru" and also signified Lord Ganesha, Karanth's favourite deity. Benaka stages several hugely popular plays like "Hayavadana" all across Karnataka and even overseas. At Benaka, Karanth also took a special interest in children's theatre and directed several plays with children. This group has been taken care of by Prema Karanth, Karanth's late wife and a noted theatre personality in her own right. She died on 29-10-07.

Contribution to Madhya Pradesh theatre

Karanth was largely responsible for starting the new theatre movement in Madhya Pradesh. As director of the NSD, at the invitation of the Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal, he organised a training-cum-production camp in 1973. In the 1980s, he returned to set up the Rangmandal repertory in Bharat Bhavan. This was to be the first-ever repertory in the state and he became the main creative spirit behind the now-legendary Bharat Bhavan.

Rangmandal, for the first time, folk professionals were used for training contemporary actors, and the repertory also included folk performers among its members. Apart from Hindi, plays were also produced in dialects such as Bundelkhandi, Malavi and Chhatisgarhi which created huge ticket-buying audiences for the Rangmandal.

Filmmaking

Karanth also forayed into the world of cinema. He directed four feature films and four documentaries, apart from scoring the music for 26 films. He co-directed films like Vamsha Vriksha and Tabbaliyu Neenade Magane with Girirsh Karnad

Awards and honours

* National Film Award for Best Film: Chomana Dudi (Choma's Drum) 1976
* President's Gold Medal for the Best Film of the Year: Chomana Dudi 1976
* National Film Award for Best Directing: Vamsha Vriksha 1972
* National Film Award for Best Music Direction: Rushya Shrunga 1977;Ghatashradha 1978

He has been decorated with the Padmashri (1981), the Kalidas Samman (Madhya Pradesh), the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1976) and the Gubbi Veeranna Award (Karnataka Government).

Legacy

Prema plans to devote time to Babukodi Pratishtana, the trust set up by Karanth a year ago. Karanth's large library and extraordinary collection of musical instruments will form part of a small museum. "We plan to organise theatre festivals, establish awards in his name, and publish his autobiography," she told Frontline.

ee also

* National award winning movies
* National awards for best direction
* National award winning Music Directors
* Kannada theater
* Benaka
* Ninasam
* K. V. Subbanna

Notes

References

* [http://www.deccanherald.com/archives/jan282007/finearts1649262007127.asp A writeup on "Benaka"]
* [http://www.hindu.com/fr/2006/10/06/stories/2006100601560200.htm A man for challenges - a write-up in The Hindu]
* [http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl1920/stories/20021011005912100.htm A genius of theater]
* [http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/sep/03spec.htm B V Karanth redefined Indian theater - A tribute by M D Riti]

External links

*
* [http://www.chaosmag.net/karanth.html About B. V. Karanth]
* [http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/sep/03spec.htm An obituary]
* [http://www.natarang.org/ Natarang Pratishthan: Archive and Resource Centre for Indian Theatre]