Tulu playwright and former chairman of Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy M.K. Seetharama Kulal died here on Sunday. He was 79 and is survived by his wife.
Mr. Kulal died in a hospital at about 12.30 p.m. His last rites will be performed in the city on Monday.
He was the chairman of the academy from 2005 to 2008. It had conferred him its honorary award for 2014.
Mr. Kulal wrote 69 dramas in Kannada and Tulu. His Tulu drama Mannda Magal Abbakka is a popular play. His first drama was Dasi Putra in Kannada.
He has written about 350 songs for both Tulu and Kannada dramas. He wrote hit Tulu movie songs like Pakkilu Mooji Onje Goodudu Badukondulloge, Mokeda Singari Untude Oyyari, and Brahmana Barevu Majande Poanda.
“They are the evergreen Tulu songs even popular today,” Kishore D. Shetty, founder and actor, Lakumi Tulu theatre troupe, said.
Mr. Kulal was the Assistant Director of Tulu film Udalda Tudar and wrote the story for it. He was instrumental in building Tulu Bhavana in the city. He proposed to build it at Urwa Stores in 2006 when he was the chairman of the academy. The bhavana now houses the office of the academy and has become a place for various Tulu activities.
