Noted director Rajashekar dead

Well-known Kannada film-maker M.S. Rajashekar, 75, passed away here on Monday after a brief illness. He is survived by wife and two sons.

According to his son M.R. Raghu, also a film-maker, Mr. Rajashekar was suffering from a lung infection.

Mr. Rajashekar was the son of well-known make-up artist, ‘Make-up’ Subbanna. He was a close associate of Dr. Rajkumar and directed as many as 35 films in his three-decade-long career as film director. He made his directorial début with

Dhruva Tare, starring Dr. Rajkumar in 1985.

Although most of his films featured Dr. Rajkumar and his sons, Shivaraj Kumar and Raghavendra Rajkumar, Mr. Rajashekar also made films with Ambareesh, Ramesh, and Ravichandran among others.

Nanjundi Kalyana with Raghavendra Rajkumar as hero and directed by Mr. Rajashekar was a box-office hit. Actor Malashree, who made her debut in Kannada with this film, was catapulted to stardom and became a sought-after actor for nearly a decade. Among Shivarajkumar’s big successes were Ratha Sapthami and Mana Mechchida Hudugi.

Mr. Rajashekar's strength lay in translating popular literary works into the celluloid medium.

Mannina Doni, based on a novel by T.K. Rama Rao, showed the acting skills of Ambareesh. In later years, he directed remakes. His last film was

Ravi Shastry , starring Ravichandran in 2006.

Noted director Rajashekar dead

He directed as many as 35 films in his three-decade career