Shankar Nag- A Maverick, A Genius
iView Author: Ratnakar Sadasyula (Bhubaneshwar, India)
Email: ratnakar.techie [at] gmail [dot] com
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Shankar Nag- A Maverick, A Genius
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As they say, those whom the Gods love, they die young.
It is 19 years since Shankar Nag or Shankar Anna as he is lovingly called by the Karnataka people, died at a young age of 35 in a road accident near Davanegere. A brilliant actor, director and a technician, he was a visionary in every sense. To people not from South or Karnataka, Shankar Nag would have been familiar with the TV series Malgudi Days, which he directed. The younger of the Nag brothers, his elder brother Anant Nag, was a leading actor in Kannada cinema, and also familiar to Hindi audiences in mostly offbeat movies like Ankur, Nishant, Kalyug, Bhumika to name a few. Shankar Nag initially was a theater artiste, and in fact he started his career with the Marathi theater in Mumbai. Hailing from the Uttara Kanara region, he was fluent in Kannada, Konkani and Marathi. It was during his theater days, that he met his future wife Arundhati, who later went on to become a well known actress in her own right.
Putting together a tribute to Shankar is not an easy task. Because he is a multi facted genius. I myself had seen very few movies of his Ondanondu Kaaldalli, Accident being the ones i vividly remember. Accident was a movie that really made me a fan of Shankar. I recall catching this movie some time back in the late 80’s on Doordarshan, and was just swayed by it’s sheer brilliance. Though the movie is shot in 1985, the shot taking, the detailing, the characterization was something way ahead of it’s times. Accident deals with the story of a rich spolit youngster, who happens to be the son of an influential politician, played by Anant Nag. During one night, in a stage of drunken revelry he drives his car over some poor villagers, sleeping on the pavement, and kills most of them. Shankar Nag, plays a honest crusading journalist, who investigates the accident, and tries his best to expose the lad. Unfortunately the politican uses his influence and clout, and gets his son out of trouble. It is the climax of Accident that really shows Shankar’s genius as a director. One of the survivors of the accident, now spots this brat, and he chases him. The guy tries to escape and in the event he himself is killed by an oncomming truck. Totally harrowing. Accident, is a movie, that is totally hard hitting and pretty much topical. Considering the number of high profile cases we had in recent times of drunk driving, and the accused trying to subvert the law, this movie still remains relevant to day. In fact the opening scene of Accident also shows Shankar’s shot taking skill, when we see a black screen raising up like a curtain, and the camera walks through and cuts on to a sunny street, as the car comes out of the garage. Clearly this was a man much ahead of his times be it in acting or directing. have not seen some of his other directorial ventures like Minchina Oota, Geeta and Ondu Muttina Kathe, but Accident itself was one of the best movies i have ever seen so far.
But if Shankar Nag could wow the critics, he was equally at home in the masala cinema. He was one of the very few actors who struck a perfect balance between commercial and artistic cinema. A person who was loved by the auto drivers as well as the more serious critics. To date, in Bangalore, auto drivers would not accept any money from Arundathi Nag, whenever she goes to Ranga Shankara in Bangalore. Shankar’s role in the masala flick Auto Raja, made him the darling of the auto drivers in Bangalore. It is quite a common sight, to see Shankar Nag’s potrait on auto rickshaws in Bangalore. Shankar Nag was not the conventional Kannada hero , he had that rough looks, voice, a distinct swagger and of course his dark piercing swagger. The ordinary junta loved his dialogues, his swagger in numerous masala flicks like Auto Raja, CBI Shankar, Geetha to name a few. Even in Apoorva Sangama, where he co starred with Dr. Rajkumar, he made an impact, not a mean fact, considering Annavru’s legendary charisma. He was one of the very few actors who could straddle both the commercial and artistic, without appearing to compromise. But then that was Shankar Nag. He was not a man who cared for labels nor some one who craved for recognition.He was a person totally passionate about whatever he did, and whatever he believed in. He was as comfortable in a total masala flick, as he was in a more serious venture.
Shankar Nag’s style could be seen in his introduction in his debut movie Ondanondu Kaaladalli, which literally means Once Upon a Time. This 1978 movie was a Kannada adaptation of Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, and was directed by Girish Karnad. One of the finest movies ever made, the movie has some fascinating stunt scenes, involving Kalaripayattu. With wide tracking photography, great shots of the Malnad forests and excellent detailing, the movie is really an epic masterpiece. Shankar plays a mercenary, Gandugali in this movie. In his intro scene, he is shown to be sleeping, with a total casual attitude in the forests, when he is woken up by some soldiers around. The way he casually talks, his lazy demeanour, his cool attitude,is almost Clint Eastwood style. This was the movie that catapulted Shankar to stardom. The movie basically deals with two mercenaries, at loggerheads with each other, who discover they have been double crossed by their masters, and how they get back. The other mercenary is played by Sunder Krishna Urs, who later became famous for his baddie roles. I request people who are in Bangalore, to get a DVD or VCD of this movie, and watch it, if you don’t understand Kannada, try getting one with sub titles. It is a classic all the way.
Shankar Nag’s foray into TV, would be memorable with the classic Malgudi Days on Doordarshan, which would be familiar to many viewers. Can any one of us forget Swami? I still remember, on listening to the brilliant opening musical score by L.Vaidyanathan and the “Ta Na Na Ta Na Ta Na Na” sound, i would just drop everything and rush to the TV. Such was the attraction it held. For the next 30 minutes or so, would just lose myself in the story of Swami. In these days of Saas Bahu serials, how much does one miss the endearing simplicity and brilliance of Malgudi Days. The town of Malgudi shown in the series is actually a place called Agumbe which lies in Shimoga District, close to the Western Ghats, one of the most beautiful and enchanting places.
Apart from TV and movies, Shankar’s greatest contribution would be to the cause of Kannada theater. Even during the peak of his stardom, he never forget his theater roots, and always took an active part in it. He co founded Sanket, an amateur theater group with his wife. Famous Kannada plays like Anju Mallige, Barrister, Sandhya Chaya, were bought to stage by his group. His last stage production was Girish Karnad’s famous play Naga Mandala, which he co directed along with Surendra Nath. The Ranga Shankara in Bangalore, is a testimony and a tribute to his vision. His dream was to have a theater space, where various groups can have a forum and an outlet for their works. For him the theatre was a studio and a gallery. Along with Girish Karnad, Anant Nag, B.V.Karanth he would forever be recognized as one of the giants of Kannada theater.
An admirer of Ramakrishna Hegde, he was not much into active politics unlike his brother. However he had a great vision for Bangalore. Way back in 1990, before his untimely death, he proposed a Metro for Bangalore city, based on what he had seen in London. He started the first ever electronic recording studio, in Karnataka, Sanket Electronics. Apart from that he was actively involved in projects like the Country Club at his farm near Bangalore, a ropeway to Nandi Hills and a low cost prefab housing scheme. An actor, a director, a theater personality, a visionary, Shankar Anna’s untimely death in 1990, was a great loss to Kannada movie industry. After his death, the Kannada movie industry really slid into an abyss of mediocricty, and only of late it is comming back with some great movies. Every time a young actor makes his debut, there are efforts to claim him as the next Shankar Nag. It has been a futile exercise, because such versatile, talented geniuses are rare to find. A man who was adored by the front benchers as well as the critics, Shankar Anna, you may have passed away 19 years back, but you would live forever in movie goer’s hearts, and in the hearts of every one who has seen Malgudi Days.
Tags: Anant Nag, Girish Karnad, Malgudi Days, People, Shankar Nag
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Nice one.
He had earned teh title “Karate King” for himself
His Directorial Debut MINCHINA OTA was also a GEM. It won him seven state awards.
It was a great loss for Kannada film / television industry and theatre.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shankar_nag
I meant his death was a great loss
it’s a nice bundled information written beautifully !!
Hey it is not bundle for your information.
Shankar is a great actor, human being & intellectual and always remains in our hearts for ever.
Am sorry ok misunderstood your comment…
Gud one….
one can see his real talent in his directorial movie ‘Nodi Swamy Naavirodhe Heege’….its simply mindblowing and awesome presentation of the typical family story…..he had gr8 passion towards work….he had both class and mass….
Shankaranna, we miss u….we really need u…matte hutti baa…
Karate king! huh!
oh! he played a Sensei in one of the masala flicks, must be a boyhood memory of yours… it is not well known.
Shankar Nag’s films are actually his group — Sanket’s movies.
Nor he or his team ever attempted doing movies without each other!
They were an awesome team, their movies were too good!
His family sold Country Club to some Reddy(same joker who comes in every Country Club ad :D ).
He was above all political affiliations, his wife sadly has restricted herself to be a left-liberal. :(
Wonderful writeup of a Magnificient Director!!
He died young, but his works will never die, will be carried forward for ages and ages and will remain a hallmark in the Indian Art Circle.
Hail Guru Shankar Nag. Aap sada hamare dil me rehte hain. We adore you, emmulate you, miss you.
Thanks Ratnakar. It was excellent.
nice consise article covering all aspects of shankar nag as a human being and a public figure
@ Ravi
The Reddy guy is Rajeev Reddy, and you are right he is a joker with a king size ego. That guy started as a builder with Amrutha Estates in Hyderabad. He pumped a lot of money into Amrutha Castle in Hyderabd, basically a hotel modelled on a German style castle, but its right now a big white elephant running into heavy losses.
Thanks Ratnakar for this wonderful writeup!
The kind of details that could be see in each scene of Malgudi Days must have humbled many filmmakers. When compared to that serial most films of that era seem like empty polythene bags.
A Very good biographical sketch, Ratnakar.
I must confess I hardly knew anything about Shankar Nag.
Shankar Nag was truly a genius…. how can anyone forget his genius seen in “Accident” and “Malgudi Days”
And Sangliyaana!!!
who can forget that Sangiliyana effect on the masses?
Good article..thanks!
@ Shyam(1): Have not seen Minchina Ota, would love to see it because i heard a lot about it.
@ Prashanth(4) : Well i guess thats another must see in my list now, but Shankar’s [passion was undeniable be it movies, theater or TV.
@ Ravi(5)
Thats an interesting info about Sanket, i always thought it was more of a theater group. The movies as u said were simply awesome.
@ Sridhar (6)
Yes Shankar’s classics would forever be etched, just way to impossible to forget Accident or Onadondu Kaladalli.
@ Vinayak(9)
The detailing in Malgudi Days is fabulous. So faithfully did he depict the fictional town, that for quite some time, i was imagining Malgudi was a real small town.
@ Sanjay(9): if for nothing else, Accident and Malgudi Days, alone would be enough to vouch for Shankar Nag’s greatness.
@ jaiganesh(12) : Have not see Sangliyana, but was this the same movie that had Shankar with Ambareesh?
I am very greatfull to you for writing about a genius like
Shankar nag. in the recent film festival i saw a Bangladesh
movie called on the wings of dreams which won a lot of international awards , the movie is similar to Shankar Nag`s
Ondu Muttina Kathe .. i learnt a lot from his storytelling skills, specially the simplicity in which he narrates his stories.. if you are a movie buff please watch this movie Ondu Muttina Kathe specially the underwater shot truely a master piece
Its really wonderfull to see people writing about shankar nag.I feel that he was one of the best directors in the indian cinema and one who is respected even today. Thank you for writing about him as he is one of my favourite actor.
It’s really a good move to write about this Maverick film maker. In this age, where films are concerned, the web is filled with hypocrite film stars trivia. I was quiet taken aback when I searched for Shankar Nag and almost found nothing!! People need to know more about this man – his life, his principles, his works, and his death. More importantly, his insight of films is what should reach people.
His movies should be showed all over the world – especially ACCIDENT!
Shankar Nag deserves to be one of the greatest film makers in the international list.
SHANKARANNA IS WAS I LIKE VERY VERY MUCH ! I LIKE HIS AUTO RAJA. ONDANONDU KALADALLI.AND LIKE HIS BRAD MIND.REGARDING THINKING OF TIME .AND METRO RAIL IS THE BASE MENT FOR BANGALURU.
B.L.Manjunatha
Karate king, action king, minchina nata, Shankar nag ravara saadhane adbuta.
Shankar nag ravara natane direction adbuta. Karate king Shankar nag ravarige avare sari saati. Geeta, minchina ota, Janma janmada anubanda, cbi shankar, edu saayda, odu muttina kathe, apoorva sangama, s.P.Saangliyana, Narasimha, Aata bhanbata, niguda rahasya, etc cinema adbuta.
Its been nice to see article on Shankar Nag.. Thanks Ratnakar for that… His contributions to Karnataka are never forgettable… he is the inspiration for many… miss him a lot…
I AM A HUGE FAN OF SHANKRANNA .AS SOON AS I HEAR HIS NAME OR VIEW HIS PHOTO IN ANY OF THE AUTO STAND OR BEHIND AUTOS I FIRSTLY SALUTE THE PHOTO .SECONDLY I WUD CONGRATS AUTO DRIVERS FOR HAVING HIS PHOTO.I LOVE HIS MOVIES .HIS ATTITUDE ,HIS ROLES , WALKING STYLE.HE LIKES TO B N A SIMPLE MANNER. IT WAS TOLD BY OUR DYNAMIC HERO (DEVARAJ)IN AN UDAYATV INTERVIEW SAYING THAT OUR SHANKRANNA USED TO WRITE A SCRIPT WHEN HE WAS DRIVING .THAT IS REALLY STRANGE. HIS TELESERIAL MALGUDI DAYS WAS A HUGE HIT,I STILL REMEMBER SWAAMI THE ROLE PLAYED BY MASTER MANJUNATH.AND IN THE EARLY 90″S HE WAS THINKING ABOUT THE METRO RAILWAY PROJECT FOR BANGALORE,WHICH S NOW TAKING ITS LANE IN THE CITY.HIS CONTRIBUTION 4 THE KANNADA CINEMA S AMAZING , HE S ALSO BLACK BELT N KARATE.I LOVE HIS MOVIES LIKE HOSA JEEVANA, GEETHA,ONDHU MUTTHINA KATHE ,JANMA JANMADA ANUBANDHA,ACCIDENT,NODI SWAMI NAVIRUVUDU HEEGE,MUGANA SEDU,AUTO RAJA,S P SANGLIANA,CBI SHANKAR(HEROINE SUMAN RANGANATH,NOW SHE S PLAYED N THE BUDDHIVANTHA MOVIE ,CHITRANA CHITRANA LOVELY TRACK)MY RING TONE S ALSO FROM THE MOVIE GEETHA(JOTHEYALI JOTHE JOTHEYALI)HE IS THE INSPIRATION 4 MANY YOUNG DIRECTORS ,TECHNICIANS,SCRIPT WRITERS SO ON.HIS WIFE ARUNDHATI NAG DONE A WONDERFUL ROLES LIKE JOGI,GOLIBAAR.IF U PEOPLE H”V GOT TIME PLZ WATCH GOLIBAAR MOVIE ,SHE HAS ACTED LIKE A REAL POLITICIAN.THANKU 2 ALL MY SHANKRANNA FANS FOR KNOWING HIM SO DEEPLY.WE ALSO GOT THEATRE N THE NAME OF SHANKRANNA IN MG ROAD CURRENTLY KNOWN AS SYMPHONY THEATRE BEHIND UTILITY BUILDING.AND ALSO HIS DREAM THEATRE RANGASHAKARA,IT S HIS WIFE ARUNDHATI NAG WHO HAS FULFILD HIS DREAMS.THANK U MAM.ITS MY PLEASURE TALKING ABOUT OUR GREAT KANNADIGA ,NAMMA ANNA SHANKRANNA.
1 on January 1st, 2009 at 5:10 pm # Reply
I recently reread Nanna Thamma Shankara. That man was fabulous. What a fantastic human being! What energy!
Frankly I found most of the films he acted inforgettable, but then he had no choice, since they are all masala stuff. That’s why he made those bridgefilms himself. but the fact that he managed itwhile having afull time film career is what impresses you. 12 years and over 70 films. and so many side projects, like the sanketh film studio which helped kannada film makers to shed their dependance on madras. that he continues to move people 18 afters his death shows what a man he was. and to think he didn’t know a word of kannada when he started films! i had the good fortuneto attend the premiere show of ‘ondanondu kaladalli’ at alankar theatre. but he didnt make itto the show.
i wish ananth nag writes a more extensive biography of shankar nag in english, to show the world that such a man existed. their relationship was again something beautiful.
if any one has got some information about shankar anna plzzz inform me to my no 9740919121 or 9980406097 cozzz i want to make a doccumentry on anna. so plz…. thanks for all of you….. i feel really happy to see this…
and also thanks for the moderator who created such a beautifull platform… thankssss….:)
Excellent article….. We really miss shankaranna…..
Its nice article i feel really happy i miss u shankaranna