Hodigere Shanbhog Venkateshamurthy (23 June 1944 – 30 May 2025), often referred to by his initials, HSV, was an Indian poet, playwright, critic and literary scholar who wrote in

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

. He also wrote lyrics for Kannada films, occasionally serving as screenwriter and writing dialogues. Murthy was born to Nagarathnamma and Narayana Bhatta in the remote village of Hodigere in the erstwhile

Kingdom of Mysore The Kingdom of Mysore was a geopolitical realm in southern India founded in around 1399 in the vicinity of the modern-day city of Mysore and prevailed until 1950. The territorial boundaries and the form of government transmuted substantially ...

, then as part of

Chitradurga district Chitradurga district is an administrative district of Karnataka state in southern India. The city of Chitradurga is the district headquarters. Chitradurga gets its name from Chitrakaldurga, an umbrella-shaped lofty hill found there. Tradition ...

(in present-day

Davanagere district Davanagere district is an administrative district of Karnataka state in India. It is the centre of Karnataka. The city of Davanagere is the district headquarters. It had a population of 1,643,494 of which 32.31% was urban as of 2011. This dis ...

). After attending school in his native village, he studied in

Holalkere Holalkere is a town and taluk headquarters located near Chitradurga in the Indian state of Karnataka. Places of worship The town has a temple to the deity Ganesha and was established in 1475 CE by Guthyappa Nayaka. The temple contains Ganes ...

followed by collegiate training at

Chitradurga Chitradurga is a city and the headquarters of Chitradurga district, which is located on the valley of the Vedavati river in the central part of the Indian state of Karnataka. Chitradurga is a place with historical significance and a major tou ...

. He completed his master's degree in Kannada at Central College

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. He worked as lecturer and professor for more than three decades at St. Joseph's College of Commerce, Bangalore, and remained in Bangalore after retirement. He received his Doctorate of Literature for his research on ''Kannadadalli Kathana Kavanagalu''.

Literary career

Murthy was a pre-''navya'' writer and Bhavageete poet. As of 2020, he published more than 100 books in Kannada. His play ''Hoovi'' was recognized by the ICSE educational board in India as a textbook for students of class nine and ten.

Death

Venkateshamurthy died at a private

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

Kengeri Kengeri is a western suburb of Bangalore city, located along Mysore Road.It is bordered by Nagarbhavi and Ullal to the north, Rajarajeshwari Nagar to the east, Kumbalgodu to the west and Uttarahalli to the south. History The name Kengeri co ...

Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

, on 30 May 2025, at the age of 80.

Contributions to film

* '' Balondu Bhavageethe'': "Kamana Billina Mele" (song) * '' Chinnari Mutta'': Story, dialogue and all songs * ''

Kotreshi Kanasu ''Kotreshi Kanasu'' (, ''Dream of Kotreshi'') is a 1994 Indian Kannada language film directed by Nagathihalli Chandrashekar starring Vijay Raghavendra and Karibasavaiah. The film won two National Film Awards at 42nd National Film Awards; Bes ...

'': All songs * '' America America'': "Banalli odo megha " (song) * ''

Kraurya ''Kraurya'' () is a 1996 Indian Kannada language drama film directed by Girish Kasaravalli, based on a story written by T. N. Seetharam about an old woman who has to deal with complex relationships with people of different generations she is put ...

'': Dialogue * '' Mythri'': Song * ''

Kirik Party ''Kirik Party'' is a 2016 Indian Kannada-language romantic comedy drama directed by Rishab Shetty and produced by G. S. Guptha and Rakshit Shetty. It stars Rakshit Shetty, Rashmika Mandanna, Samyuktha Hegde, Achyuth Kumar, Aravinnd Iyer, Dhana ...

'': "Thoogu Manchadalli Koothu" (song) * ''

Sapta Saagaradaache Ello – Side B ''Sapta Saagaradaache Ello – Side B'' (stylized as ''Sapta Saagaradaache Ello (Side B)''; ) is the second installment of the 2-Part 2023 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film, co-written and directed by Hemanth M. Rao and produced by R ...

'': "Irabeku Iruvanthe Toredu Saavira Chinte" (song)

Contributions to television

* '' Mukta'': Title song * '' Maha Parva'': Title * '' Magalu Janaki'': Title song

Awards

* Bala Puraskar Award from Central Sahitya Academy, India (2013) * V.M. Inamdar Memorial Award for his book ''Kumaravyasa Kathanthara'' *

Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist – Kannada The Kannada Filmfare Best Lyricist 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 ...

at the

66th Filmfare Awards South The 66th Filmfare Awards South ceremony honoring the winners and nominees of the best of South Indian cinema in 2018 is an event that was held on 21 December 2019 in Chennai. The nominations for all the main awards were announced on 13 December ...

for his work on ''Hasiru Ribbon''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Venkateshamurthy, H. S. 1944 births 2025 deaths 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Kannada poets Indian male dramatists and playwrights People from Shimoga district Kannada-language writers Indian male poets Poets from Karnataka Dramatists and playwrights from Karnataka 20th-century Indian male writers Recipients of the Rajyotsava Award 2003