G. V. Iyer

Ganapathi Venkatrama Iyer
Native name ಗಣಪತಿ ವೆಂಕಟರಮಣ ಅಯ್ಯರ್
Born (1917-09-03)3 September 1917
Nanjanagud, Kingdom of Mysore, British India
Died 21 December 2003(2003-12-21) (aged 86)
Mumbai, India
Nationality Indian
Other names
  • G. V. Iyer
  • Kannada Bheeshma
Occupation Actor, film director, screenwriter
Known for Sanskrit film direction
Notable work Adi Shankaracharya (1983)
Bhagavad Gita (1993)
Swami Vivekananda (1998)

Ganapathi Venkataramana Iyer (3 September 1917 – 21 December 2003), popularly known as G. V. Iyer, was a well-known Indian film director and actor. He was nicknamed "Kannada Bheeshma",[1] and was the only person who made movies in Sanskrit. His movie Adi Shankaracharya (1983) won four National Film Award, including Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Audiography.[2][3] His films were well known for their spiritual themes. He was born in 1917 in Nanjanagud in Mysore district of Karnataka state in South India. His most critically acclaimed film was Bhagavad Gita (1993), which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film and was nominated for Best Film at the Bogotá Film Festival.

Career

He started his career at the age of eight when he joined the Gubbi Veeranna theatre group.[4] His first role as an actor in cinema was in the film Radha Ramana. Besides this he acted in a number of other movies such as Mahakavi Kalidasa, Sodhari, Hemavati, Hari Bhaktha and Bedara Kannapa.

He soon started directing his own movies. The movie Hamsageethe (music by Dr. Balamuralikrishna, B. V. Karanth and T.G. Lingappa) was extremely well received and made him famous. Iyer wrote scripts, lyrics and produced and directed many commercial Kannada movies. Iyer's biggest effort was Ranadheera Kanteerava. He continued making commercial movies until 1970.

He was proficient in both Kannada and Sanskrit and was soon to make the first movie in Sanskrit, about the famous philosopher Adi Shankara (1983). The movie received the National Film Awards for Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Audiography and has been known as a master piece. It is believed that the movie made a great impact on Iyer. It was remarked that he stopped wearing footwear after making the movie.

He later went on to make a film on Madhvacharya in Kannada and Ramanujacharya in Tamil. He also made a remarkable Sanskrit movie Bhagavad Gita (1993), which won Best Film at the National Film Awards of 1993.[5] The film was also nominated for Best Film at the Bogotá Film Festival.

He also produced a television series Natyarani Shanthala,[6] a historical, on the Hoysala Jain queen Shanthala, who was married to a Vaishnava King. It was re-made in Hindi as well as in Kannada. It was based on several works by Samethanahalli Rama Rao in Kannada.

He later went on to make a movie Swami Vivekananda. It was an attempt to portray Swami Vivekananda, realistically. Though it had many famous actors such as Mithun Chakraborty, Hema Malini and Sarvadaman Banerjee, the movie failed to become a commercial success.

He was planning a film based on the Hindu epic Ramayana, with Sanjay Dutt playing the role of Ravana, before his sudden death on 21 December 2003 at the age of 87. His last rites took place at his Bharadhwaja Ashrama, near Dodda Aladamara, on the outskirts of Bangalore, near Kengeri.[1][7]

Filmography

Director, Writer and Producer

Year Film Credited as Language
Director Writer Producer
1954 Bedara Kannapa Red X Green tick Green tick Kannada
1960 Ranadheera Kanteerava Red X Green tick Green tick Kannada
1962 Bhoodana Green tick Green tick Green tick Kannada
1962 Thai Karulu Green tick Red X Red X Kannada
1962 Thayin Karuna Green tick Red X Red X Kannada
1962 Gaali Gopura Red X Green tick Red X Kannada Lyrics only
1963 Bangari Green tick Green tick Green tick Kannada
1963 Saaku Magalu Red X Green tick Red X Kannada Dialogues only
1963 Lawyer Magalu Green tick Green tick Green tick Kannada
1964 Post Master Green tick Green tick Green tick Kannada
1966 Kiladi Ranga Green tick Green tick Green tick Kannada
1967 Rajashekara Green tick Green tick Green tick Kannada
1967 Gange Gowri Red X Green tick Red X Kannada Dialogues only
1968 Mysore Tanga Green tick Green tick Red X Kannada
1968 Nane Bhagyavathi Green tick Red X Red X Kannada
1969 Chowkada Deepa Green tick Red X Red X Kannada
1969 Vichitra Samsara Green tick Red X Red X Kannada
1975 Aakhri Geet Green tick Red X Red X Kannada
1975 Hamsageethe Green tick Green tick Green tick Kannada
1976 Nalegalannu Maduvavaru Green tick Red X Red X Kannada
1977 Kudre Motte Green tick Red X Red X Kannada
1983 Adi Shankaracharya Green tick Green tick Red X Sanskrit Screenplay only
1986 Madhvacharya Green tick Green tick Red X Kannada
1989 Ramanujacharya Green tick Red X Red X Tamil
1989 Wall Poster Green tick Red X Red X Kannada
1993 Bhagvad Gita: Song of the Lord Green tick Green tick Red X Sanskrit
1998 Swami Vivekananda Green tick Green tick Red X Hindi

Actor

Awards

See also

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, May 02, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.