Arun Sagar (born 23 October 1963) is an Indian actor, art director and comedian who mainly works in the
Kannada film industry
Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. Kannada cinema is based ...
. He has been recognized as a leading art director throughout his career starting from his first movie, ''
Bhoomi Geetha'' which won the national award for best environmental film. He has worked with veteran directors like Poori Jagannath, Meher Ramesh, Veerashankar and K Raghavendra Rao. He has received Karnataka state award for best art direction for his contributions in the movie
Sri Manjunatha
Manjunath or Manjunatha is another name for the Hindu deity Shiva. It may also refer to:
People
* B. C. Manjunath, Indian classical musician/percussionist
* Master Manjunath (Manjunath Nayaker) (born 1976), an Indian actor and public relations pr ...
. He ran a show on Kasturi TV called 'Tarrle' that resembled a popular show ''M.A.D.'' from
Pogo TV
Pogo is an Indian pay television channel owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery India under its International division, as part of Cartoon Network India as the network's sister channel. It was launched on 1 January 2004. It broadcasts b ...
that taught children about art, painting and crafting. He became popular during the telecast of ''
Maja with Sruja'' that aired on
Asianet Suvarna
Star Suvarna, ''(formerly Asianet Suvarna)'' is an Indian Kannada language general entertainment pay television channel owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. It primarily telecast programmes such as serials, ...
where he played various comical roles that parodied celebrities and politicians. The show was a huge hit for its satire-comedy structure. Arun Sagar was later hired as the first contestant of
Bigg Boss Kannada
''Bigg Boss Kannada (BBK)'' is the Kannada version of the reality TV show ''Bigg Boss'', which is broadcast in India through Colors Kannada channel. The show is produced by Endemol Shine India, who owns the global format of '' Big Brother''. ...
Season 1, where he emerged as the runner-up for the season. He later reprised the comedy genre with a new show, ''
Comedy Circle'' that was aired on
ETV Kannada. The show was successful, however for unknown reasons, he opted out of the show after few episodes. He also hosted a one-man-show on the same genre known as ''Koyyam Kotra'' on
TV9 (Kannada).
Awards and honours
* Karnataka State Award: Best Art Director (2002)
* 3rd Suvarna Film Awards: Best Art Director (2010)
* Nominated – SIIMA Award for Best Actor IN a Supporting Role – Male – Kannada
* Nominated – Sandalwood Star Award for Best Comedian
Filmography
Films
* ''
Marma''
* ''
Janumada Jodi''
* ''
Parva''
* ''
Chandu''
* ''
Just Maath Maathalli''
* ''
Raam''
* ''
No 73, Shanthi Nivasa''
* ''
Madesha''
* ''
Maathaad Maathaadu Mallige''
* ''
Veera Madakari''
* ''
Vishnuvardhana
Vishnuvardhana () was a king of the Hoysala Empire in what is today the state of Karnataka, India. He ascended the Hoysala throne after the death of his elder brother Veera Ballala I in 1108. Originally a follower of Jainism and known as ...
''
* ''
Sanju Weds Geetha ''
* ''
Chingari''
* ''
Bacchan''
* ''
Auto Raja''
* ''
Mynaa
''Mynaa'' is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language romantic thriller film directed and written by Prabhu Solomon. Jointly distributed by Udhayanidhi Stalin and Kalpathi S. Aghoram, it stars Vidharth, Amala Paul and Thambi Ramaiah. The soundtrack by D. ...
''
* ''
Benkipatna''
* ''
Ring Master''
* ''Joker''
* ''
Pournami'' (Telugu)
* ''
Sandamarutham'' (Tamil)
* ''
Amar''
* ''
Kanneri''
* ''
Ramana Avatara''
Television
* ''Tarrle''
* ''
Bigg Boss Kannada
''Bigg Boss Kannada (BBK)'' is the Kannada version of the reality TV show ''Bigg Boss'', which is broadcast in India through Colors Kannada channel. The show is produced by Endemol Shine India, who owns the global format of '' Big Brother''. ...
''
* ''
Maja with Sruja''
* ''Koyyam Kotra''
* ''
Comedy Circle''
* ''Simpallag Ondu Singing Show''
* ''
Bengaluru Benne Dose''
* ''Connexion Connection''
* ''
Chandrakumari
''Chandrakumari'' is an Indian Tamil-language television historical drama and soap opera, replacing the serial '' Vani Rani''. It was directed by Suresh Krissna and O. N. Rathnam under the Sun Entertainment and Radaan Mediaworks banners. It pre ...
''
* ''Sathya''
*''
Cookku with Kirikku''
*
Mayamruga
Comedy shows history
Maja with Sruja (2010)
''Maja with Sruja'' was a sketch comedy show that was aired on
Asianet Suvarna
Star Suvarna, ''(formerly Asianet Suvarna)'' is an Indian Kannada language general entertainment pay television channel owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. It primarily telecast programmes such as serials, ...
during 2010. The show was directed by "Vijay Prasad", known for his famous directorial venture ''Silly Lalli''. He is also the director of the film ''
Sidlingu''. The identity of Vijay Prasad was never revealed in the show. Arun Sagar joined the comedians like
Mimicry Dayanand
Mimicry Dayanand is an Indian impressionist, stand-up comedian, actor and television presenter from the Karnataka
Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Ka ...
, Antony Kamal and
Srujan Lokesh, who hosted the comedy focused talk show. Celebrities were being invited for casual talk as well as film promotions. The show ended in 2011 despite being highly appreciated by the viewers. Arun Sagar played the popular role of "Chidlupudi Chidananda" and also impersonated many celebrities.
Srujan Lokesh hinted about a new season in the finale of ''Maja with Sruja'', but this did not happen.
Koyyam Kotra (2011–12)
TV9 Kannada hired Arun Sagar for a one-man-show on their channel focused on satire comedy in 2011. The show ''Koyyam Kotra'' was inspired from the popular show, ''
The Week That Wasn't
''The Week That Wasn't'' was an Indian News satire, satirical late night television programme hosted by Cyrus Broacha and shown on the ''CNN-IBN'' (now CNN News18) channel. Started in 2006, the cast included Kaneez Surka, Gopal Datt, Mohit Maha ...
''. Arun Sagar hosted the show, parodied many celebrities from the political and entertainment fields. The show had around 25-episode run and had become quite famous. Later in 2013, Arun Sagar was hired as a contestant for Season 1 of ''
Bigg Boss Kannada
''Bigg Boss Kannada (BBK)'' is the Kannada version of the reality TV show ''Bigg Boss'', which is broadcast in India through Colors Kannada channel. The show is produced by Endemol Shine India, who owns the global format of '' Big Brother''. ...
'' by
ETV Kannada, where he stood out as the runner-up of the season.
Comedy Circle (2014)
Arun Sagar, after coming out of ''
Bigg Boss
''Bigg Boss'' is an Indian reality show franchise based on the Dutch reality show '' Big Brother''. It is produced by Endemol Shine India through JioStar Network. Subsequently, the various versions of the show are made internationally availabl ...
'' house, started another sketch comedy show on
ETV Kannada named ''Comedy Circle''.
Though this show appeared to be reincarnation of ''Maja with Sruja'' with all the recurring characters, it missed Srujan Lokesh on the show. The show was directed by Vijay Prasad again, and hosted by Arun Sagar initially. The casting was expanded for the show, which included Arun Sagar, Shalini,
Mimicry Dayanand
Mimicry Dayanand is an Indian impressionist, stand-up comedian, actor and television presenter from the Karnataka
Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Ka ...
, Antony Kamal, Mimicry Gopi, Mithra and Girija Lokesh in the main cast. Arun Sagar became popular for his impersonation of female characters in the show. For unknown reasons, Arun Sagar was present only for first few episodes. Later, Shalini took up the hosting for ''Comedy Circle'' and the show successfully completed around 40 episodes.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sagar, Arun
Living people
Indian male film actors
Indian male television actors
Indian stand-up comedians
Male actors in Kannada cinema
21st-century Indian male actors
1965 births
People from Shimoga district
Male actors from Karnataka
Participants in Indian reality television series