Girish Karnad Dead: Lesser known and interesting facts about the legendary playwright, actor, director

Bollywood and the whole of India has suffered a huge loss today as noted filmmaker, playwright, theatre artist Girish Karnad has passed away the age of 81 in Bengaluru. Girish Karnad could be rated as one of the most influential and charismatic artists of India and was truly an artist par excellence. Karnad was known for dabbling in many fields and always liked to speak his mind without worrying about consequences.

Let’s check out some interesting facts regarding Girish Karnad and his achievements:

• Girish Karnad was born in Matheran, Maharashtra, into a Konkani-speaking family. And his initial schooling was done in Marathi.
• After doing his graduation, he went to England and studied at Lincoln and Magdalen colleges in Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, earning his Master of Arts degree in philosophy, political science, and economics.
• Girish Karnad is the latest of seven recipients of Jnanpith Award for Kannada, the highest literary honor conferred in India.

 

• The noted playwright and theatre artist has received Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri from the government of India. He is also the recipient of Sahitya Academy Award and many other prestigious awards.
• Girish Karnad has written many plays in Kannada and they have been translated into English and other languages.
• Karnad was a Visiting Professor and Fulbright Scholar in Residence at the University of Chicago.
• Girish Karnad has also been the voice of late APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India, in the audiobook of Kalam’s autobiography by Charkha Audiobooks ‘Wings of Fire’.

 

• Girish Karnad was very outspoken and did make some controversial comments. He created a controversy by claiming that Rabindranath Tagore was a second-rate playwright and that his plays were “unbearable”.
• The extraordinary artist has also acted in Hindi films, which include ‘Tiger Zinda Hai, ‘Shivaay’ and others.

The legendary artist was a man with many talents. May God give enough strength and courage to Girish Karnad’s family to cope with this loss.

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