Theatre personalities, artistes and film personalities on June 10 remembered Girish Karnad as a brilliant playwright-actor-director who left an indelible mark in art and cinema.
Karnad, 81, died on June 10 after prolonged illness at his Bengaluru residence. He was a progressive voice that championed freedom of expression. In his over five-decade-long career, the actor has worked in films in languages- Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and Marathi.
Magazine: The multifaceted Girish Karnad says theatre is not dead
He was an actor par excellence, a Rhodes scholar, and recipient of the Jnanpith award, but what Girish Karnad liked most was being a playwright.
Film and theatre personalities condoled his passing.
It has been a friendship of 43 years: Shabana Azmi
Veteran actor Shabana Azmi took to Twitter to pay tribute to her friend of 43 years. "Its been a friendship of 43 years and I need the privacy to mourn him," she wrote, sharing a photograph of the two from the 1975 movie 'Nishant'.
“Deeply saddened to learn about Girish Karnad. Haven’t yet been able to speak with his family. It’s been a friendship of 43 years and I need the privacy to mourn him,” she tweeted
Naseeruddin Shah pays tribute to Karnad
Actor Naseeruddin Shah has expressed his condolences: “I was a kid when I met him for the first time in the first year at the drama school (National School of Drama, New Delhi). I had, of course, read Tuglaq , which is a magnificent play. He used to come for seminars and lectures and made a huge impact on the girls but the boys couldn't escape him either. He was terribly attractive, a personable man, very well spoken, had a great voice, sexy eyes... The boys were aware of that too. At that time, I found him a distant and unreachable personality.
“Later our paths crossed again. He was the director of the FTII (Film and Television Institute of India, Pune) while I was a student. That was a bad time, there was a strike by the acting students. I wouldn't go into the details of it but I troubled him a great deal. When the institute was closed, he saw a play of mine and recommended me to Shyam Benegal. I owe a debt and gratitude to him for that.
“We worked together in [Benegal's] Manthan and Nishant and another film that has been mercifully forgotten in which he was the hero singing songs and I was the bad guy. I thought his career in acting was ill-chosen. His wife Saras and son Raghu are friends of mine. We were never very close but I always regarded him with awe and admiration.
“Ratna [Pathak Shah] and I met him in Bangalore last month. He was with the oxygen cylinder and tube, physically debilitated but mentally all there. He was a powerful personality, an intellectual giant, one of the finest playwrights in the country whose position will be difficult to fill. He was clear in his thoughts and put things out very well. He will be missed in every manner--in his outspokenness, his honesty, the frugal way he lived, the example he set. There were so many facets to his life.”
I’m completely distraught: Shyam Benegal
Celebrated filmmaker Shyam Benegal, who directed Karnad in critically-acclaimed films “Manthan” and “Nishant”, said he was heartbroken and was planning to fly to Bengaluru to pay his last respects to his longtime collaborator and friend.
“I’m completely distraught. I’m not in a condition to speak,” Mr. Benegal told PTI .
I celebrated when he got Jnanpith: Sahitya Akademi president
Chandrashekhar Kambar , president, Sahitya Akademi said he lost a “very intimate friend” in Karnad.
“He was my colleague. We wrote plays in a very competent manner. He came all the way from Bombay and acted in my play ‘Jokumaraswamy’ When he got the Jnanpith Award I celebrated, when I got one he celebrated. I’m very sad,” Kambar told PTI .
Actor-politician Kamal Haasan lauded the rich legacy of the veteran writer and director. The duo had worked together in movies like Guna and Hey Ram.
Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar paid homage to Karnad.
“I received the sad news of the demise of talented actor, director, writer Girish Karnad ji. I pay my condolences on his death. May his soul rest in peace,” Ms. Mangeshkar tweeted.
Director Deepa Mehta said she was extremely saddened by the news of her fellow filmmaker’s death. “What a master of his craft. From ‘Nagmandala’ to enacting Swami. What a huge loss,” she wrote.
Actor Anil Kapoor , who collaborated with Karnad on “Pukar” called him a “great man and playwright”. “I met Girish Karnad way back when he was the principal of the film institute & then worked with him in ‘Pukar’.. His stories will forever remain in our hearts and minds. Sending my prayers and heartfelt condolences to his family,” he tweeted.
Ali Abbas Zafar, who helmed the 2017 movie, starring Salman Khan in the lead, tweeted, “Rest in peace sir #GirishKarnad, man with a golden heart and fountain of knowledge. RIP.”
"It was a great experience having him on the sets [of Tiger Zinda Hai ]; not just as an actor but as a gentleman and a knowledgeable soul," says director Ali Abbas Zafar . "He wasn't just knowledgeable but would also articulate his thoughts very well. He would very nicely tell you what is right and wrong. The kind of talent he possessed was awe-inspiring. He was a great conversationalist and human being. We would talk off the sets on food, literature and life. My relationship with him was like that of a professor and student. He was not keeping well at the shoot of the film but was a fighter. He worked with the oxygen pipe and would tell us not to worry, that work was more dear to him than life. He always said that you must do what you love the most. His passing away is a loss for the entire nation."
Amol Palekar, actor and filmmaker: "It's an irreparable loss for me at many levels - cultural, intellectual, as well as political! Very few artists had the courage to stand up against the atrocities of the system. Raising one's voice against the establishment was inhibited. Everyone must bow to this grand doyen!"
Girish Karnad made films with ruralism, history and mythical pathos with contemporary themes, the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) wrote on Twitter.
"We are deeply saddened by the demise of multifaceted personality, an acclaimed playwright, filmmaker and actor #GirishKarnad. His films are acknowledged for bringing ruralism, history and mythical pathos with contemporary themes," they wrote on Twitter.
Actor Tisca Chopra recalled how conversations with Karnad on theatre and writing have had a huge impact on her life.
“Deeply saddened at the passing of #GirishKarnad... He was kind to let me rent his house in #Bandra when I first came to Mumbai. Spent many evenings chatting with him about theatre and writing... Those chats had a deep impact on my choices at work.. #RIP dear friend. You will be missed,” she tweeted.
Writer-lyricist Varun Grover said the demise of Karnad is the disappearance of an entire university.
“We are lucky to still have access to the library of this university in our hands and minds. Thank you Gurudev,” Mr. Grover tweeted.
Celebrated author Amitav Ghosh said the country has lost an important voice.
“Saddened to hear of the passing of Girish Karnad - a great writer and a very important public voice. Thoughts are with @rkarnad and his family,” he tweeted.
Actor Nandita Das wrote on Twitter,”Indeed, very sad news. A great loss to the arts, to the diminishing public discourse.”
Actor Sonam Kapoo r wrote on Twitter, “Rest in peace. I loved his work.”
The influence of Karnad’s work was massive and spread across a generation of artistes from veteran star Kamal Haasan to the younger, actor Ali Fazal said.
“One of my first big production at the Doon School, was #GirishKarnad’s ‘Hayavadana’ A masterpiece that I got to perform. I remember it so vividly. An extraordinary man. He will be remembered for his unique sense of style and persona. In writing in acting and in life,” Fazal wrote on Twitter.
Choreographer-actor Prabhu Deva recalls working with him in his 1984 film “Kadhlan” directed by S Shankar.
“He was such a nice person, intelligent and incredibly humble. He was so talented, (he was) the smartest. I still remember shooting the film with him. I remember meeting him often at airports. He always surprised me with his humility,” Prabhu Dheva told PTI .
"Thank you Girish Karnad ji for an enriching, empowering and inspiring life you led," wrote actor-politician Prakash Raj .
"Every moment I lived with you is ALIVE. Will miss you... but will cherish you for life," he added.
Actor Siddharth tweeted, “Rest in peace great sir. #GirishKarnad.”
Actor Shruti Haasan also took to Twitter and wrote, “May you rest in peace Girish Karnad sir. Your talent humour and sharp intellect will be missed.”
FTII mourns Karnad’s demise
Bhupendra Kainthola , Director, FTII said that the institute “deeply mourns the passing away of the Institute's former Director and Chairman Girish Karnad”.
“Girish Karnad was the only FTII Director who went on to serve as the Chairman too — as Director for two years (1974 and 1975) and as Chairman for more than two years (1999 -2001). As the first non-civil servant Director of FTII, Girish Karnad is remembered as an accessible administrator. He was straightforward, friendly and open.
“As the youngest FTII Director (at 35 he was heading the Institute when some students were older than him!!) he introduced the Integrated Course in the syllabus which required that early on students of each film specialisation learn about other specialisations. This continues till today in the form of the Common Course which newcomers attend during the first semester.
“The FTII community will miss him as much as the theatre and cinema would.”
Jyoti Dogra, theatre actor and dancer
I did a play of his Agni aur Barkha, which we adapted. I did it with it a group of young actors fromChandigarh and we called it Toye. I actually went though a lot of Girish Karnad's works and decided on this. At the time, I didn’t think we needed to ask for permission but we were invited to a few festivals and [at this point, there was talk of permission]. I was fearing he would get really angry but he wrote back and that he had heard about the production. I had written him a letter and I had cut out bits of chunks thinking he would be enraged with me. It was absolutely wonderful to get an email from such a giant who was being so humble and generous and he was also curious about how I adapted it, and he was very keen to see it. WE could never have a show in Bangalore and his health wasn't so good, so he couldn't travel. Long ago he had seen a work of mine, which Rehaan Engineer had directed. How humbling and wonderful it was to meet such a great playwright and scholar and he’s genuinely interested in our adaptations of his work. I just felt very honoured to have met him and for his interest in the piece. When I read the news today, I felt I should have pushed further and had a show [of Toye] in Bangalore.
Jehan Manekshaw, Founder Director of Theatre Professionals and actor
My relationship with him was purely through his text. I met him only once when I came first came back from the UK and I was trying to figure out what to do with my life. I had written my Bacherlor's dissertation on search of identity, based on Hayvadan . And Rakta-Kalyan has been a play I wanted to direct for years and I was almost heartbroken when Sunil Shanbag got to direct it. I’ve always loved his work, that always bridged the traditional and the contemporary. It's funny, my brother who has followed my work for 40 years, says not another Girish Karnad [when I work on something new] and I’d tell him, 'Don’t say anything about Girish Karnad'. I was an Indian studying in the US and there’s the feeling, where you don't know where you belong, of having an embodied identity and cultural identity. Working on [Hayvadan] and working with the ideas that Girish Karnad asked us to explore, I got a sense of being ok with who I was as a person, being ok with the contradictions that are inherent in all of us. It was the relationship with the play that gave it to me. When I met him years later, it was hard to be all cool thinking about the actual impact he had on me as a person. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family.
Abhishek Majumdar, Indian playwright and theatre director
My relationship has been with Girish Karnad's work, like the many people who have bene in love with theatre and then went on to make theatre. An entire generation of theatre makers loved his work. I watched his plays in Bangla, Kannada, Hindi and even one in English. After I stated to learn and teach and write plays and I would see how much of attention he played to structure and details. The one thing I regret is I could not read Kannada, I would have loved to read his work in Kannda. Thankfully, there were a lot of plays that he translated himself and that gave us a sense of what he was thinking in a more direct way. I had a lot of opportunities to meet him, there were a lot of festivals, where he recommended our plays and I was nervous to meet him. There were [times] where I didn’t turn up because I was so nervous. But he sent me a book and he wrote something for me which is a prized possession. He's a legend, and he’s as important as anything that we think makes india. If we think of buildings, monuments and cities, he’s as much of what makes up India.
From theatre sessions with Ebrahim Alkazi to becoming a formidable talent
A barely 20-year-old Girish Karnad, fresh out of college, would stand in some corner at Ebrahim Alkazi’s theatre terrace in Mumbai, erstwhile Bombay, quietly looking at what would be among his first encounters with theatre.
The play that had a huge influence on Karnad was a Hindi production of “Antigone” by Mr. Alkazi, inspiring the young playwright to choose mythology and history to tell his stories about modern India.
Karnad was a fabulous talent who was concerned with the society and politics, Feisal Alkazi, veteran theatre director and son of Ebrahim Alkazi, said remembering the late playwright.
“What particularly interesting happened at that time was that my father had done this production of ‘Antigone’ with Kusum Haider in Hindi and that was one of the first plays that Girish saw.
“And it was the first time he was seeing a mythic story drawing parallels with the contemporary times of Nazi Germany, and it left a huge impression on him,” Mr. Feisal Alkazi told PTI .
Karnad, who was known for his style of drawing from mythology and history to weave stories about contemporary sociopolitical issues, then wrote his first play, “Yayati” while studying as Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford.
His early contact with theatre through Ebrahim Alkazi only got better when he wrote “Tughlaq” in 1964, the story of the 14th century Sultan of Delhi, and sent it to the director.
“Then my father had it translated into Urdu and the first production was by National School of Drama, directed by Om Shivpuri, my father directed it much later,” he recalled.
Ebrahim Alkazi directed the play in 1972 with the grandeur of Purana Qila as its backdrop. The performance till date is considered one of the best theatre productions in the country.
“Years later, when my father had left NSD and had returned to work with the repertory company, Girish offered him the script of ‘Rakta Kalyan’.
“This play was about Basvanna, Kannada poet and social reformer in the Bhakti movement, and his interaction with the ruling state in the 15th century. So my father did the first production of ‘Rakta Kalyan’,” Mr. Feisal Alkazi said.
Mr. Feisal Alkazi’s sister and famous theatre director Amal Allana also worked with the playwright.
“We had a close connection, he was very much a family friend. My sister also worked with him for ‘Tughlaq’ and ‘Hayavadana’ My wife knew him in a very different capacity, her father was part of the film institute (FTII) when Girish was the director.”
“My wife was telling me this morning she was there at Girish’s wedding. She was 16 or something at that time,” he remembered.
Karnad was a “formidable talent”, whose work will continue to inspire generations to come, said Mr. Feisal Alkazi. — PTI
(With inputs from Agencies)
