Musuri Krishnamurthy (10 March 1930 – 16 March 1985) was an Indian actor, film director, producer, working 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 ...

. He was known mostly for his roles as a comedian.

Early life

Krishnamurthy was born on 10 March 1930 to B. S. Vishweshwaraiah and Subbamma. His father, Vishweshwaraiah was a

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

in Bettadapura,

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

. As a young boy, Krishnamurthy was drawn towards singing and acting. He exhibited his singing talent during a Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in front of carnatic vocalist Musiri Subramania Iyer and the then

Maharaja of Mysore The maharaja of Mysore was the king and principal ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore and briefly of Mysore State in the Indian Dominion roughly between the mid- to late-1300s and 1950. The maharaja's consort was called the maharani of Mysore. In ...

Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV (4 June 1884 – 3 August 1940) was the twenty-fourth Maharaja of Mysore, reigning from 1902 until his death in 1940. Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV is popularly deemed a '' rajarshi'', or 'saintly king', a moniker with which Mah ...

. Having been impressed by his performance, the Maharaja compared him to Musiri Subramania Iyer, after which Krishnamurthy was known as Musuri Krishnamurthy to all.

Career

Krishnamurthy made his film debut in the 1943

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 ...

film ''

Vani Vani ( ka, ვანი ) is a town in Imereti region of a western Georgia (country), Georgia, at the Sulori river (a tributary of the Rioni river), 41 km southwest from the regional capital Kutaisi. The town, with a population of 3,744 as of 201 ...

'' which was also the debut of actress

Pandari Bai Pandari Bai (18 September 1928 – 29 January 2003) was an Indian actress who worked in South Indian cinema, mostly in Kannada cinema during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. She is considered Kannada cinema's first successful heroine. She has acted ...

, who like Krishnamurthy was later considered one of Kannada cinema's finest actors. He then appeared in films after a span of 10 years, in 1953 with ''Mangala Gowri'', ''Kanyadana'' and ''Kokilavani'' which marked his debut as a lead actor. Krishnamurthy then began to assist well known film directors like Shankar Singh, B. Vittalacharya, B. R. Panthulu and others. He also worked as an assistant to well known lyricist and director Kanagal Prabhakara Shastry and learnt the art of writing poems. As filmmaking was less during the 1950s, Krishnamurthy slowly shifted his base to

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

and worked for some of the very famous stage companies of that time. He worked for K. Hirannaiah, Subbaiah Naidu, Gubbi Company and other prominent stage troupes of that era. In 1962, he started his own stage troupe called Amba Prasada Nataka Mandali. But, finding it difficult to manage the company due to heavy expenses, he shut it down in 1966 and returned to films. In his second innings in films, Krishnamurthy played roles as comedian, villain and supporting artist. He became known for his role as Connection Kalappa in

Puttanna Kanagal Shubraveshti Ramaswamiah Seetharama Sharma (1 December 1933 – 5 June 1985), known popularly as S. R. Puttanna Kanagal, was an Indian filmmaker known for his work in Kannada cinema. He is often considered one of Indian cinema's most influent ...

's 1978 film '' Paduvaaralli Pandavaru''. Following this and with roles in films in the 1970s and '80s like '' Dharmasere'', '' Ranganayaki'', ''Guru Shishyaru'', '' Antha'', ''Nanna Devaru'', '' Haalu Jenu'' and '' Kaviratna Kalidasa'', Krishnamurthy became one of Kannada cinema's most wanted actors. In 1981, he started his film production company called Yashaswini Enterprises under which he produced the film ''Number 5 Ekka'' in which he recorded a duet, "Honganasu Nanasagide" with Bangalore Latha. Being a film producer, he continued appearing in films with his last appearance coming in the 1985 film '' Veeradhi Veera''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Krishnamurthy, Musuri 1930 births 1985 deaths Male actors in Kannada cinema Indian male film actors Kannada people Male actors from Karnataka 20th-century Indian male actors People from Mysore district