G. V. Iyer

Ganapathi Venkatrama Iyer
Native name	ಗಣಪತಿ ವೆಂಕಟರಮಣ ಅಯ್ಯರ್
Born	3 September 1917 Nanjanagud, Kingdom of Mysore, British India
Died	21 December 2003 (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	N			Kannada
1960	Ranadheera Kanteerava	N			Kannada
1962	Bhoodana				Kannada
1962	Thai Karulu		N	N	Kannada
1962	Thayin Karuna		N	N	Kannada
1962	Gaali Gopura	N		N	Kannada	Lyrics only
1963	Bangari				Kannada
1963	Saaku Magalu	N		N	Kannada	Dialogues only
1963	Lawyer Magalu				Kannada
1964	Post Master				Kannada
1966	Kiladi Ranga				Kannada
1967	Rajashekara				Kannada
1967	Gange Gowri	N		N	Kannada	Dialogues only
1968	Mysore Tanga			N	Kannada
1968	Nane Bhagyavathi		N	N	Kannada
1969	Chowkada Deepa		N	N	Kannada
1969	Vichitra Samsara		N	N	Kannada
1975	Aakhri Geet		N	N	Kannada
1975	Hamsageethe				Kannada
1976	Nalegalannu Maduvavaru		N	N	Kannada
1977	Kudre Motte		N	N	Kannada
1983	Adi Shankaracharya			N	Sanskrit	Screenplay only
1986	Madhvacharya			N	Kannada
1989	Ramanujacharya		N	N	Tamil
1989	Wall Poster		N	N	Kannada
1993	Bhagvad Gita: Song of the Lord			N	Sanskrit
1998	Swami Vivekananda			N	Hindi

Actor

• Radha Ramana (1943)
• Bedara Kannappa (1954)
• Sodari (1955)
• Bhakta Mallikarjuna (1955)
• Sadarame (1956)
• Jagajyothi Basveshwara (1959)
• Ranadheera Kanteerava (1960)
• Kantheredu Nodu (1961)
• Vamsha Vriksha (1971)
• Hemavathi (1977)

Awards

• 1983: National Film Award
  • Best Film: Adi Shankaracharya
  • Best Screenplay: Adi Shankaracharya
• 1993: National Film Award
  • Best Film: Bhagavad Gita^[8][9]
• 1993: Bhagavad Gita – nominated for Best Film at the Bogotá Film Festival in Golden Precolumbian Circle.^[10]

See also

• List of Indian film directors

References

1. "G.V. Iyer". jointscene.
2. "31st National Film Awards". India International Film Festival.
3. "31st National Film Awards (PDF)" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals.
4. "GV Iyer Movies Collectors Set". Retrieved 9 March 2012.
5. "National Film Awards, India,". IMDb. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
6. "Manju Bhargavi returns to work in Kannada". Retrieved 9 March 2012.
7. "G.V.Iyer Is No More". Retrieved 9 March 2012.
8. "40th National Film Awards". India International Film Festival. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
9. "40th National Film Awards (PDF)" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Retrieved 2 March 2012.
10. "G.V. Iyer Awards". whosdatedwho.com. Retrieved 9 March 2012.

External links

• G. V. Iyer at the Internet Movie Database