LAST WORD BY JITESH PILLAAI
popular and got translated
into several languages.
They not only form part
of the international canon
in universities around the
world but are performed
globally as well by theatre
companies. He used
mythology and folklore
to ask pertinent questions
about current society
and was way ahead of
his times. One finds his
creations as relevant today
as they were when he first
wrote them.
He wasn’t a trained
actor but had a natural
instinct for emoting, using
his eyes and gestures to
eloquently convey a range
of emotions. Who can
forget his performances
in films like Nishant,
where his performance as
a humble schoolteacher
doing his utmost to get
justice drew praise! He
rubbed shoulders with
such stalwarts as Amrish
Puri, Naseeruddin Shah,
Anant Nag, Mohan
Agashe, Smita Patil andB
ack in the
golden age of
Doordarshan,
Girish Karnad was
a hit with the kids
in the serial Malgudi Days
(1987) as the strict father
of the protagonist. He lived
and breathed the character.
Few would remember
Indradhanush (1989), a
sci-fi serial in which Karan
Johar had also acted as
the protagonist’s bestie.
Karnad played a kind
and genial father in it.
Then, there was Turning
Point, a weekly science
magazine presented by
him. It introduced various
landmarks in the world
of science in layman
language, with educator
scientist Yash Pal being
his guest.
Even in his DD days,
one marked Karnad out as
being different. He seemed
more of a scholar than an
actor. Hence it didn’t come
as a surprise when one
later learnt that he was a
Rhodes Scholar and had
studied in Oxford. But
he wasn’t a scholar, who
stayed in an ivory tower
and put out one florid
theory after the other.Shabana Azmi and yet
made his mark. Or in the
Marathi film Umbartha
(1982), where his grey-
shaded character offered
a contrast to Smita Patil’s
straightforward one.
Likewise, in the Kannada
mystery Anveshane
(1983), co-starring Anant
Nag and Smita Patil, it
was his character, which
unravelled the plot.
Karnad had a
perfectionist streak. At the
time of Ananda Bhairavi
(1983), he was in his mid-
40s and yet learnt the
intricacies of Kuchipudi
dance as he was playing
a proponent of that art
form. As a social reformer,
thinker, writer, actor and
director, he wore many
hats and lived each role
to perfection. The phrase- one in a million - suits
him to a T. His passing can
be counted as the end of
an era. RIP sir, and thanks
for the memories...
[email protected]
Twitter: @jiteshpillaai
He was a thinker, a
philosopher, who believed
in calling a spade a spade
and was in sync with
the pulse of the nation.
He considered his duty
to protest whenever he
believed that the state
was encroaching on the
rights of its citizens. He
was a vociferous critique
of the demolition of the
Babri Masjid, which took
place in 1992. One of
the most vivid images
we have of him is from
recent times, when at the
commemorative meeting
for slain journalist Gauri
Lankesh, he sat wearing
a placard which read
‘Me Too Urban Naxal’.
He was ailing and needed
an oxygen machine to
breathe at the time. But
he still came to mark
his protest.
Being educated in
Oxford, it’s a given that his
English would have been
world-class. But he chose
instead to write in his
mother tongue Kannada,
thereby enriching the
language. His plays,
such as Yayati, Tughlaq,
Hayavadana and many
more became hugelyTO SIR,
WITH LOVE
l d ttanslated ShabanaAzmi andyetThe late Girish Karnad