Budaguru Ramakrishnaiah Panthulu (26 July 1910 – 8 October 1974) was an Indian film director, producer and actor. He is best known for directing films in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi. His most popular films are '' Karnan'', ''

Veerapandiya Kattabomman Veerapandiya Kattabomman was an 18th-century Tamil Palayakarrar and king of Panchalankurichi in Tamil Nadu, India. He refused to accept the sovereignty of the British East India Company and waged a war against them. He was captured by the Briti ...

'', ''

Sri Krishnadevaraya Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Empire, reigning from 1509 to 1529. He was the third monarch of the Tuluva dynasty, and is considered to be one of the ...

'', ''

School Master The word schoolmaster, or simply master, refers to a male school teacher. This usage survives in British independent schools, both secondary and preparatory, and a few Indian boarding schools (such as The Doon School) that were modelled after B ...

'' and '' Kittur Channamma'', B. R. Panthulu, is a successful actor and converted

Ma. Po. Si. Mylai Ponnuswamy Sivagnanam,Padma Awards 1972
padmaawards.gov.in popularl ...

's biographic works ''

'' (a movie about a local chieftain who fought with the British in the 18th century in Tamil Nadu) and ''

Kappalottiya Thamizhan ''Kappalottiya Thamizhan'' () is a 1961 Indian Tamil-language historical drama film produced and directed by B. R. Panthulu. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan and Savitri. It is based on the 1944 book of the same name by M. P. Si ...

'' (a movie about a lawyer who rebelled against the British rule that forbade Tamils operating shipping companies) to celluloid.

Early life

Panthulu was born on 26 July 1910 in the village of Rallabudaguru of Arcot district in the erstwhile Madras state (in present-day

Chittoor district Chittoor district () is one of the eight districts in the Rayalaseema region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The district headquarters is located at Chittoor. It has a population of 4,170,468 according to 2011 census of India. It lies in ...

of Andhra Pradesh ). He began his career as a teacher. Influenced by professional theatre during the time, he joined the troupe Chandrakala Nataka Mandali. He acted in plays ''Samsara Nouka'', ''Sadarame'' and ''Guleba Kavali''. He also worked for some time with

Gubbi Veeranna Gubbi Hampanna Veeranna (1891 – 1972) was an Indian theatre director. He was one of the pioneers and most prolific contributors to Kannada theatre. He established the drama company, ''Gubbi Sree Channabasaveshwara Nataka Company'', which play ...

's troupe and acted in ''Sri Krishna Garudi'' among others. Panthulu then formed his own Kannada professional theatre troupe, the Kalaseva Nataka Mandali, staging plays of his own choice.

Career

He made his debut as an actor in the 1936 Kannada film ''

Samsara Nauka ''Samsara Nauke'' ( kn, ಸಂಸಾರ ನೌಕ) is a 1936 Indian Kannada language social drama film directed by H. L. N. Simha and produced by K. Nanjappa. This film was the fourth sound film produced in Kannada cinema and the first melodram ...

'', an adaptation of the play he acted in. It was produced by Devi Films, based in Chennai. Directed by

H. L. N. Simha H is the eighth letter of the Latin alphabet. H may also refer to: Musical symbols * H number, Harry Halbreich reference mechanism for music by Honegger and Martinů * H, B (musical note) * H, B major People * H. (noble) (died after 12 ...

, the film starred Panthulu, M. V. Rajamma, Dikki Madhava Rao, S. K. Padmadevi and M. S. Madhava Rao. The hero marries against his grandfather's wishes and is cast out. His troubles do not end there – he finds no favour with his in-laws, loses his job, and finds himself accused of murdering the bride his grandfather had chosen for him. The film was adapted from a play by the Chadrakala Natak Mandali, and remained true to the original's reformist ideal. In 1950, he made the

Tamil film Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywo ...

''Macharekhai'', partnering with filmmaker P. Pullaiah under a stage company that later came to be known as Sukumar Productions with musician T. R. Mahalingam as his partner. With writer P. Neelakantan, he started the company Padmini Pictures, and produced the Tamil film '' Kalyanam Panniyum Brahmachari'' in 1954. Under the banner, he would go on to produce the Kannada films ''

'' (1958), '' Kittur Chennamma'' (1961) and ''

'' (1970), that went on to become landmark films. His portrayal of Timmarusu, the Prime minister of the

Vijayanagara Vijayanagara () was the capital city of the historic Vijayanagara Empire. Located on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, it spread over a large area and included the modern era Group of Monuments at Hampi site in Vijayanagara district, Bell ...

King

Krishnadevaraya Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Empire, reigning from 1509 to 1529. He was the third monarch of the Tuluva dynasty, and is considered to be one of the ...

, won him the

Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actor Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actor is a state film award of the Indian state of Karnataka given during the annual Karnataka State Film Awards. The award honours Kannada Language films. Superlatives Recipients The first recipient was ...

. As director, Panthulu his debut as a director with the Kannada film '' Rathnagiri Rahasya'', a major commercial success during the time. He has produced and directed 57 films in all South Indian languages under the banner of ''Padmini Pictures''.

Filmography

Awards

; International Film Awards for his film ''"Veerapandia Kattapomman"'' ; ;

National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

: All India Certificate of Merit for Third Best Feature film – ''

'' *

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

: Certificate of Merit for Best Feature Film in Tamil – ''

'' *

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

: Certificate of Merit for Best Feature Film in Kannada – '' Kittur Chennamma'' * 1961: President's silver medal for Best Feature Film in Tamil – ''

'' ;

Karnataka State Film Awards Karnataka State Film Awards are the most notable and prestigious film awards given for Kannada film industry in Karnataka, India. These are considered the highest awards for Kannada language films. They are given annually by the Government ...

* 1969-70:

- ''

'' ;

Filmfare Awards South Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassing ...

* 1970:

Filmfare Award for Best Film – Kannada The Kannada Filmfare Best Film Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Kannada film Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the prod ...

- ''

Book on B.R.Pantulu

A. N. Prahlada Rao A. N. Prahlada Rao (born 24 July 1953) is an Indian author and Kannada-language crossword compiler/ Constructor. Career A. N. Prahlada Rao was born at Abbani in the Kolar district of Karnataka, India. He started his career as a journalist and was ...

has written a Book '"Danivillada Dhani" on B.R.Panthulu in Kannada, consisting of the details of his childhood, theatre, films produced in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Malayalam. The book was published by

Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy (English: Karnataka Film Academy) was formed by the Government of Karnataka in 2009 to promote film culture in Karnataka. The academy has taken up several projects to develop a healthy film culture in the state ...

. The book was released in November 2016 by Dr. Bharati Vishnuvardhan. Journalist and short story writer Jogi spoke on Book. S.V. Rajendra Singh Baabu presided.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Panthulu, B.R. Kannada film producers Telugu film directors Kannada film directors Male actors in Kannada cinema Male actors in Tamil cinema Tamil film directors 1910 births 1974 deaths 20th-century Indian film directors People from Kolar Film producers from Karnataka Tamil film producers Hindi film producers Hindi-language film directors 20th-century Indian businesspeople Film directors from Karnataka Indian male film actors Male actors in Hindi cinema Male actors in Telugu cinema