Lakshman Rao Mohite (15 June 1932 – 17 January 2016), better known by his pen-name Geethapriya ( kn, ಗೀತಪ್ರಿಯ), was an Indian film director and lyricist of the

Kannada film industry Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. The 1934 film ''Sati Sulochana'' directe ...

. He has directed 40 films and penned over 250 songs in Kannada films. In 1992–93, he was awarded the

Puttanna Kanagal Award The following is the list of Award winners for the Karnataka State Puttanna Kanagal award. Kanagal was among the front runners in Kannada cinema's most successful film directors. In his memory and honor, this award is presented to the directors ...

for his contribution to Kannada cinema as a director.

Early life

Geethapriya was born as Lakshman Rao Mohite in 1931, to Ramarao Mohite and Lakshmibai. His father worked for the cavalry regiment of Mysore State Troops called Mysore Lancers, which was stationed in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. Even though his mother tongue was

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

, he was always interested in the Kannada language and was admitted to a Kannada-medium school. The poet P. T. Narasimhachar lived in the same quarters as Geethapriya's family and was a huge influence in the latter's career. He was also inspired by the writings of K. Shivaram Karanth, Masti Venkatesh Iyengar, T. R. Subba Rao and A. N. Krishna Rao. He tried his hand in writing from his middle school days and sent his poems and short stories to magazines like ''Thaayinaadu'', ''Ramarajya''. Following his completion of CA intermediate, Geethapriya took up small writing assignments. He then worked as a clerk in Cubbon Park restaurant,

where he received a monthly salary of 35. Having had a brief association in theatre, he had the music director

Vijaya Bhaskar Vijaya Bhaskar ( kan, ವಿಜಯಭಾಸ್ಕರ್; 1924–2002) was an Indian music director and composer who composed music for several mainstream and experimental feature films in the Kannada film industry. Scoring music for over 600 fe ...

and film director M. B. Singh as friends. On Bhaskar's promise of paying him 40 a month, Geethapriya entered films as a lyricist in 1954. Geethapriya suffered from various health issues during the last few years of his life. A combination of various health complications resulted in a heart attack that caused his death on 17 Jan 2016.

Career

As lyricist

Geethapriya started his career in films in 1954 as a lyricist, writing a song for the film, ''Sri Rama Pooja''. He then moved to

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Tamil Nadu, the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and territories of India, Indian state. The largest city ...

(now Chennai). He worked with Y. V. Rao for the film ''Bhagya Chakra'' (1956) by writing dialogues and songs. ''Sri Ramanjaneya Yuddha'' (1963) became hit with songs like "Jagadishanaduva Jagave Natakaranga" and eleven others all whose lyrics were written by Geethapriya. This was followed by "Aadutiruva Modagale" for the film ''Bettada Huli'' (1965) and ''Onde Balliya Hoogalu'' (1967) for which

Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...

sang "Neenelli Nadeve Doora", the only song sung by him for a

Kannada film Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. The 1934 film ''Sati Sulochana'' directe ...

As director

Geethapriya directed his first film in 1968 with '' Mannina Maga'' that had Rajkumar and Kalpana playing the lead roles. It was awarded the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organization set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of sever ...

and he won the

Karnataka State Film Award for Best Screenplay Karnataka State Film Award for Best Screenplay is a state film award of the Indian state of Karnataka given during the annual Karnataka State Film Awards. The award honors Kannada language films. Superlative Winners Award winners The firs ...

. The film ran for a hundred days in Bangalore's Kapali and Bharat theatres. He directed other successful films like ''Yaava Janmada Maithri'', (1972), ''Beluvalada Madilalli'' (1975), ''

Besuge ''Besuge'' ( kn, ಬೆಸುಗೆ) is a 1976 Indian Kannada-language romance film directed by Geethapriya, based on a novel of the same name by Ashwini, and stars Srinath, Manjula and Chandrashekar, in lead roles. The film is seen as a land ...

'' (1976), '' Hombisilu'' (1978), '' Putani Agent 123'' (1979) and ''Mouna Geethe'' (1985). Having directed 40 films during his career, he was awarded the

for expertise in direction. He also directed three

Tulu language Tulu () in Kannada script, ml, ത‍ുള‍ു ഭാഷെ in Malayalam script. ''bhāṣe'', , ''bhāśe'', and ''bāśe'' are alternative spellings for the Tulu word ''bāse'' in the Kannada script. The correct spelling for the word " ...

films and one Hindi film, ''Anmol Sitaare''.

Filmography

Direction

Lyrics

Awards

* 1968 –

– '' Mannina Maga'' *

from Karnataka Government * 2012 – Saroja Devi Award * 2012 – Sandesha Award

References

External links

* {{authority control Kannada-language lyricists Kannada film directors 2016 deaths 1932 births Kannada-language writers Film directors from Bangalore Indian lyricists 20th-century Indian film directors 20th-century Indian poets Screenwriters from Bangalore