Eshwar Gowda (born 17 March 1963), known professionally as Jaggesh, is an Indian politician, film actor, director and producer, who mainly works in

Kannada cinema 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. Kannada cinema is based in Gandhi Nagar ...

. Known for his roles in comedy films, he is popular by the moniker Navarasa Nayaka. Considered one of the popular actors, Jaggesh has won Karnataka State Film Awards and

Suvarna Film Awards The Suvarna Film Awards is an award ceremony for Kannada films presented annually by Star Suvarna Channel, a Kannada-language division of the STAR India, from the south-Indian state of Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union terri ...

for his acting. Jaggesh started his film career by playing minor part in '' Ibbani Karagithu'' (1982) and then he essayed supporting roles in '' Ranadheera'' (1988), '' Ranaranga'' (1988), '' Yuddha Kaanda'' (1989), '' Rani Maharani'' (1990), '' C. B. I. Shiva'' (1991) among others and also worked as an

assistant director The role of an assistant director (AD) on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have ...

for several films. His first lead role came with '' Bhanda Nanna Ganda'' in 1992 but his major breakthrough came in '' Tharle Nan Maga'' in the same year. He is a

Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha A Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha (abbreviated: MP) is the representative of the States and union territories of India, Indian states to the upper house of the Parliament of India which is known as "Rajya Sabha" (constitutionally "Cou ...

from

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

since 2022 and the spokesperson of the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

Early and personal life

Jaggesh, born on 17 March 1963 as Eshwar is originally from Mayasandra (Jadeya Mayasandra) of

Turuvekere Turuvekere is a panchayat town and Taluk in Tumakuru district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Karnataka. Geography Turuvekere is located at , about 12 km, South of the Banasandra railway station. It has an average e ...

Taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative ...

Tumkur district Tumakuru district is an List of districts of Karnataka, administrative district in the state of Karnataka in India. It is the second largest district in Karnataka by land area with an area of 10,598 km2, and fourth largest by Population. It is ...

to a Vokkaliga family. Jaggesh married Parimala on 22 March 1984 with whom he has sons Gururaj (b.1987) and Yathiraj (b.1992). Parimala's brother Sunder Ramu is also an actor.

Career

Film

He debuted in '' Ibbani Karagithu'' (1983) starring Anant Nag and

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...

. After playing supporting roles for almost 10 years, he got his first lead role in '' Tharle Nan Maga'' (1993), directed by

Upendra Upendra (Devanagari: उपेन्द्र) is an Indian masculine given name. The meaning of the Sanskrit word ' is "younger brother of Indra" and refers to either Krishna or Vishnu, who as a son of Aditi (or in the Vamana avatar) was born subs ...

in his directorial debut. His first big grosser was '' Bhanda Nanna Ganda.'' In a career spanning 40 years he has acted in nearly 150 films, with notable films including ''Super Nan Maga'', '' Server Somanna'', '' Bevu Bella'', , , '' Vaastu Prakaara'' and '' Neer Dose''. He is popularly known as 'Navarasa Nayaka' of sandalwood for his unique mannerisms and comic timing. He directed two films, ''

Guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

'' and '' Melkote Manja.'' He became the celebrity judge for the comedy show ''Comedy Khiladigalu'' and joined the reality show ''Khiladi Kutumba.''

Politics

Jaggesh's political affiliation was with the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

(INC). He claimed that his father had been a " Mandal Panchayath President, and mother a

Zilla Panchayat The Zila Panchayat or District Development Council or Zilla Parishad or District Panchayat or is the third tier of the Panchayati Raj system and functions at the district levels in all states. A Zila Parishad is an elected body representing the ...

member in

Tumkur Tumkur, officially Tumakuru, is a city and headquarters of Tumakuru district in the Karnataka state of India. Tumkur is known for Siddaganga Matha. Tumkur hosts India's first mega food park, a project of the ministry of food processing. The Ind ...

." In the 2004 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election, Jaggesh contested

, and won with a healthy margin but resigned from the INC to join the BJP. He served as Member of Legislative Council and held the cabinet rank as the vice-chairman of the

Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is a state-owned public road transport corporation company in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is wholly owned by the Government of Karnataka. It serves routes to 31 districts and as wel ...

(K.S.R.T.C.).

Filmography

All the films are in Kannada.

Director

Singer

Television

References

External links

Official website
(archived) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaggesh 1963 births Living people 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian male actors Film directors from Bengaluru Indian actor-politicians Indian game show hosts Indian male comedians Indian male film actors Indian National Congress politicians from Karnataka Kannada film directors Karnataka MLAs 2008–2013 Male actors from Bengaluru Male actors in Kannada cinema People from Tumkur Rajya Sabha members from Karnataka