S. R. Puttanna
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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 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 is often considered one of
Indian cinema The cinema of India, consisting of motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various film industries, each focused on p ...
's most influential filmmakers.


Background and personal life

Puttanna Kanagal was born to Ramaswamaiah and Subbamma in Kanagal, a village 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 ...
into a poor family. As he hailed from a poor
brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
family, he had to endure hardships and struggled to get a decent job. He worked as a teacher, salesman and even as a cleaner. His job as a publicity boy brought him closer to theatre and subsequently to cinema. His association with films began when he started working for B. R. Panthulu as an assistant director and also as his driver. His first film as an assistant director was '' Rathnagiri Rahasya'' (1957). Puttanna married Nagalakshmi at very young age and they had 5 children. However he fell in love with his protege and leading actress in 1970s
Aarathi Aarathi (born as Bharathi in 1954) is a former Indian actress and director who prominently worked in Kannada films during the 1970s and 1980s. Her accolades include four Karnataka State Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards. Besides Kannada, ...
and they got married during 1976–77. They had a daughter Yashaswini, who was born in 1978. However, due to creative differences Puttanna and
Aarathi Aarathi (born as Bharathi in 1954) is a former Indian actress and director who prominently worked in Kannada films during the 1970s and 1980s. Her accolades include four Karnataka State Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards. Besides Kannada, ...
separated in 1981. In 1981, Puttanna's magnum opus
Ranganayaki Ranganayaki (, ), also known by her epithet Tayar, () is a Hindu goddess. She is the presiding goddess of the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam. She is the chief consort of Ranganatha, the tutelary deity of Srirangam. The goddess is regar ...
did not do as well as expected at the box office, even though it gained critical acclaim and later went on to become a cult classic. In addition to this, separation from
Aarathi Aarathi (born as Bharathi in 1954) is a former Indian actress and director who prominently worked in Kannada films during the 1970s and 1980s. Her accolades include four Karnataka State Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards. Besides Kannada, ...
had impacted his health. He had no work in hand for 14 months starting from late 1980 to mid of 1982. Srinath whom Puttanna directed in blockbuster films like
Shubhamangala ''Shubhamangala'' () is a 1975 Indian Kannada language film directed by Puttanna Kanagal, based on a novel of the same name by Vani, starring Aarathi and Srinath. The supporting cast features Shivaram, Ambareesh, Musuri Krishnamurthy and K. S ...
and Dharmasere came to his help, and they made
Maanasa Sarovara ''Manasa Sarovara'' () is a 1982 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Puttanna Kanagal and starring Srinath, Padma Vasanthi and Ramakrishna. Padma Vasanthi won the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actress for her performance. The plot w ...
which became an average hit and helped Puttanna bounce back. Kanagal died on 5 June 1985 in
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 ...
while shooting Masanada Hoovu. Starting his career as a publicity boy, Kanagal was drawn into
independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...
making after a stint in theatre and working with film director and producer B. R. Panthulu as his assistant. Kanagal's assistants include Tamil directors S. P. Muthuraman,
Bharathiraja Bharathiraja ( born 17 July 1941) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor who works mainly in the Tamil film industry. Making his debut in 1977 with ''16 Vayathinile'', he is known for realistic and sensitive portrayals of ...
, and
T. S. Nagabharana Talakadu Srinivasaiah Nagabharana (born 23 January 1953), commonly known as T. S. Nagabharana, is an Indian film director, in the Kannada film industry and a pioneer of parallel cinema. He is one of the few film directors to have straddled th ...
. Although a majority of Kanagal's films were on offbeat or taboo subjects, generally women-centric, he endeared himself to both the critics and ordinary film goers alike making "bridge films" between art and commercial cinema. His film in Kannada, ''
Gejje Pooje Gejje Pooje ( ) is a 1969 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Puttanna Kanagal and produced by Rashi Brothers. The film stars Kalpana, Gangadhar and Leelavathi. Actress Aarathi made her first screen appearance in this film. It is based ...
'', based on a novel of the same name by
M. K. Indira Mandagadde Krishnarao Indira (5 January 1917 – 15 March 1994) was a well-known Indian novelist in the Kannada language. Her works include ''Phaniyamma'', which won various awards. She began writing novels at the age of forty-five.Susie J. ...
is considered a landmark film. He would go on to direct other films such as ''
Kappu Bilupu ''Kappu Bilupu'' ( ) is a 1969 Indian Kannada language film directed by Puttanna Kanagal. Based on a novel of the same name by Aryamba Pattabhi, this movie revolves around the contrasting behaviors of an identical, yet distinct pair of twins. Th ...
'' (1969), ''
Sharapanjara ''Sharapanjara'' ( ) is a 1971 Indian Kannada language film directed by Puttanna Kanagal, based on a novel by Triveni of the same name, and starring Kalpana and Gangadhar in lead roles. This film is considered one of the best Kannada movies ...
'' (1971), ''
Naagarahaavu ''Naagarahaavu'' ( ) is a 1972 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Puttanna Kanagal, based on T. R. Subba Rao's three novels ''Nagarahavu'', ''Ondu Gandu Eradu Hennu'' and ''Sarpa Mathsara'', and starring Vishnuvardhan, Aarathi, K. S. A ...
'' (1972), ''
Edakallu Guddada Mele ''Edakallu Guddada Mele'' ( ) is a 1973 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Puttanna Kanagal. It is based on the novel of same name by Bharathi Suta which was an adaptation of the English novel '' Lady Chatterley's Lover'' by D. H. Lawren ...
'' (1973), ''
Shubhamangala ''Shubhamangala'' () is a 1975 Indian Kannada language film directed by Puttanna Kanagal, based on a novel of the same name by Vani, starring Aarathi and Srinath. The supporting cast features Shivaram, Ambareesh, Musuri Krishnamurthy and K. S ...
'' (1975) and ''
Ranganayaki Ranganayaki (, ), also known by her epithet Tayar, () is a Hindu goddess. She is the presiding goddess of the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple at Srirangam. She is the chief consort of Ranganatha, the tutelary deity of Srirangam. The goddess is regar ...
'' (1981), all of which are seen as milestones in Kannada cinema. He also directed a handful of films in
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...
,
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...
and
Hindi language Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of the Government of India, alongside English, and is the ''li ...
s.


As a director

Often credited as a movie-maker much ahead of his times, his first directorial venture was the 1964 Malayalam movie '' School Master'', a remake of his mentor B. R. Panthulu's Kannada classic of the same name He then directed another Malayalam movie ''
Poochakkanni ''Poochakkanni'' (also written ''Poocha Kanni'') is a 1966 Indian Malayalam-language film, directed by Puttanna Kanagal and produced by A. L. Sreenivasan and P. Arunachalam. The film stars Prem Nazir, Adoor Bhasi, Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair an ...
'' (Cat eyed/Hazel eyed lady) based on the Kannada novel ''Bekkina Kannu'' by Triveni. Puttanna's first Kannada film as a director was ''
Bellimoda ''Belli Moda'' ( ) is a 1967 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Puttanna Kanagal in his directorial debut. It was based on the novel of same name by Triveni. Kanagal remade the film in Malayalam in 1967 as '' Swapnabhoomi'' and in Telugu ...
'' (Silver Cloud) in 1967. Starring
Kalpana Kalpana may refer to: Film and television * ''Kalpana'' (1948 film), an Indian Hindi-language dance film * ''Kalpana'' (1960 film), a romantic Bollywood film * ''Kalpana'' (1970 film), an Indian Malayalam film * ''Kalpana'' (2012 film), an I ...
and
Kalyan Kumar Kalyan Kumar (7 June 1928 – 1 August 1999) was an Indian actor, as well as an occasional film director and producer, who worked primarily in Kannada cinema, Kannada and Tamil cinema. Making his acting debut in the mythological drama ''Natashek ...
, this movie was a critical and commercial success. Legend has it that Puttanna scouted for a week to find the perfect location for the mellifluous song "Moodala Maneyaa".
Belli Moda ''Belli Moda'' ( ) is a 1967 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Puttanna Kanagal in his directorial debut. It was based on the novel of same name by Triveni. Kanagal remade the film in Malayalam in 1967 as '' Swapnabhoomi'' and in Telugu ...
is credited as the first
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 ...
movie to be shot exclusively outdoors. He directed many masterpieces like ''
Gejje Pooje Gejje Pooje ( ) is a 1969 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Puttanna Kanagal and produced by Rashi Brothers. The film stars Kalpana, Gangadhar and Leelavathi. Actress Aarathi made her first screen appearance in this film. It is based ...
'', ''
Sharapanjara ''Sharapanjara'' ( ) is a 1971 Indian Kannada language film directed by Puttanna Kanagal, based on a novel by Triveni of the same name, and starring Kalpana and Gangadhar in lead roles. This film is considered one of the best Kannada movies ...
'', ''
Naagarahaavu ''Naagarahaavu'' ( ) is a 1972 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Puttanna Kanagal, based on T. R. Subba Rao's three novels ''Nagarahavu'', ''Ondu Gandu Eradu Hennu'' and ''Sarpa Mathsara'', and starring Vishnuvardhan, Aarathi, K. S. A ...
'' etc '. His last film was ''Savira Mettilu'', which never released during his lifetime. He also provided a platform for many actors such as
Kalpana Kalpana may refer to: Film and television * ''Kalpana'' (1948 film), an Indian Hindi-language dance film * ''Kalpana'' (1960 film), a romantic Bollywood film * ''Kalpana'' (1970 film), an Indian Malayalam film * ''Kalpana'' (2012 film), an I ...
,
Aarathi Aarathi (born as Bharathi in 1954) is a former Indian actress and director who prominently worked in Kannada films during the 1970s and 1980s. Her accolades include four Karnataka State Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards. Besides Kannada, ...
, Leelavathi, Jayanthi,
Padma Vasanthi Padma Vasanthi is an Indian actress in the Kannada film industry. Some of the films of Padma Vasanthi as an actress include '' Maanasa Sarovara'' (1982) '' Bettada Hoovu'' (1985), '' Mussanje Mathu'' (2008). Awards Career Padma Vasanthi has be ...
, Srinath,
Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 170 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, ...
, Vishnuvardhan,
Ambareesh Malavalli Huchchegowda Amarnath (29 May 1952 – 24 November 2018), known by his screen name Ambareesh, was an Indian actor, media personality, politician from the state of Karnataka. Alongside Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan, he is counted ...
,
Jai Jagadish Jai Jagadish (born 29 June 1954) is an Indian actor, producer and director from the Kannada film industry. Starting his career as hero in '' Phalitamsha'' (1976), he went on to feature in over 300 films as an actor. Some of his most notable film ...
, Chandra Shekhar,
Gangadhar Gangadhar (1936–2003) was an Indian actor known for his work in Kannada cinema. A character actor who transitioned from stage to films in the mid-1960s, he had a brief period of success when his performances in social-dramas such as '' Gejj ...
, Shivaram,
Vajramuni Sadananda Sagar (10 May 1944 – 5 January 2006), better known by his stage name Vajramuni, was an Indian actor who appeared in Kannada films. He portrayed negative characters during most of his career and was considered one of Kannada cinema's ...
,
Sridhar Sridhar is a given name that is also sometimes used as a surname. Notable people with this name include: *Sridhar (actor), Indian actor in the Kannada film industry *Anup Sridhar, badminton player *C. V. Sridhar, screenwriter and film director *Sri ...
,
Ramakrishna Ramakrishna (18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886——— —), also called Ramakrishna Paramahansa (; ; ), born Ramakrishna Chattopadhay,M's original Bengali diary page 661, Saturday, 13 February 1886''More About Ramakrishna'' by Swami Prab ...
and Aparna to showcase their talents. In devotion to Puttanna, Vishnuvardhan said, "Puttanna Kanagal Sir was the God-sent teacher for me! And I have been made an actor. I am indebted to guru Puttanaji. He used to conceptualize scenes, narrate them to me, inspire me and extract the potential till then unknown to myself. Acting in a single movie under Puttanna's expertise is an experience of a lifetime." Puttanna introduced most of the actors in the Kannada film industry. Tamil director
Bharathiraja Bharathiraja ( born 17 July 1941) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor who works mainly in the Tamil film industry. Making his debut in 1977 with ''16 Vayathinile'', he is known for realistic and sensitive portrayals of ...
worked under him. Each of Kanagal's 24 Kannada movies had strong themes filled with unprecedented direction. Tamil legendary film maker K. Balachander, winner of the 2010
Dadasaheb Phalke Award The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest Film award, award in the field of cinema, given by the Government of India and presented annually at the National Film Awards. The recipient is honoured for their "outstanding contribution to the ...
had great regard for Puttanna. In many of his interviews to the media, Balachandar has stated that he considered a much younger, Puttanna Kanagal, a director from Kannada(Karnataka) film industry to be his guru in film making. An excerpt from one such interview: :Q) You have stated in many interviews that you consider Puttanna Kanagal (Kannada filmmaker), though younger than you, as your guru in
filmmaking Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...
. What is it that you learnt from him? :A) Age has got nothing to do with learning. You can learn from anybody and everybody. I liked and admired Puttanna Kanagal, because, at the time when many of our filmmakers lacked the vision of filmmaking in terms of visuals he was the one who insisted on films being visual than oral. Apart from that his ability to churn out the human emotions from his actors was one of his kind. In fact Balachander, for most of the remakes of his Tamil films in Kannada (Benkiyalli Aralida Hoo, Mauna Geethe) has gone on to cast many of the talents like Ashwath, Sridhar, Jai Jagadesh, Ramakrishna, Srinath, nurtured in Puttanna's camp. Also, both Puttanna's and Balachander's films dealt with the issues on women – more so in Puttanna's films.


The Visualiser

The Kannada film industry in the 1960s and the 1970s started moving from mythological and historical subjects to socially relevant themes. This metamorphosis was reflected in the rise of ''bandaaya sahitya'' or rebellious literature. The New Wave Cinema or Alternate Cinema movement spread across India, particularly in Karnataka, West Bengal and Kerala. Puttanna's movies, however, were seen as a bridge between commercial cinema and alternate cinema. While his plots, based on popular Kannada novels, revolved around strong characters and distinct themes, he added mandatory songs and emotions to distinguish from alternate cinemas. His mastery over symbolism is quite remarkable. He has effectively used effectively in almost all of his movies. Puttanna was also considered as a pioneer in picturising songs. In general, his movies contained 4–5 songs. Even with respect to song picturisation, Puttanna had a strong sense of colour and imagery. He would go to great lengths to select the locations and costumes for a song. The songs generally reflected the inherent mood of the film. For instance, the song from the movie ''
Manasasarovara Lake Manasarovar also called Mapam Yumtso (; ) locally, is a high altitude freshwater lake near Mount Kailash in Burang County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is located at an elevation of , near the western trijunction be ...
'', ''Neene saakida gini'', a poignant song, was shot amidst the dust-filled mining areas, thereby reflecting the agony of a man who has lost his true love. Similarly the song ''sandesha megha sandesha'' from the movie ''Sharapanjara'' was shot in the
Madikeri Madikeri (), earlier called as Mercara is city and headquarters of Kodagu district in the Karnataka state of India. It is recognised as one of the world's eight "hottest hotspots" of biological diversity and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site ...
, with innumerable oranges strewn around. He was well known for his effective use of freeze shots and negative images to heighten the introspective effect of key scenes. Although his films were accused of being too woman-centric, Puttanna personally felt that such notions were wrong. He was the first director of the Kannada Film Directors Association after its inception in 1984. Poonam Theatre in
Jayanagar, Bangalore Jayanagara is a mixed residential and commercially developed neighbourhood in Bengaluru, India. It is one of the zones of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. It is sub-divided into seven wards. It is surrounded by Basavanagudi, JP Nagar, W ...
was renamed in his honor after his last film debuted there. In 2004, the theatre closed until reopening after a 2011 campaign supported by
Baraguru Ramachandrappa Baraguru Ramachandrappa (born 18 October 1947) is an Indian essayist, lyricist, screenwriter, film director, socialist, writer, novelist, predominantly works in Kannada language and President of the Textbook Revision Committee, in Karnataka Text ...
, V. Manohar and the
Democratic Youth Federation of India Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) is a youth organisation in India. It was founded in its inaugural conference held from 1–3 November 1980 at Shaheed Kartar Singh Saraba village in Ludhiana, Punjab. DYFI was formed as an independent ...
and was scheduled for demolition in July 2012 but later saved and remodeled. In June 2015, the 30th anniversary of his death was honored with an event organized by the
Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy ( English: Karnataka Film Academy) was formed by the Government of Karnataka in 2009 to promote film culture in Karnataka. The academy has taken up several projects to develop a healthy film culture in the state ...
and guests and speakers included
Ambareesh Malavalli Huchchegowda Amarnath (29 May 1952 – 24 November 2018), known by his screen name Ambareesh, was an Indian actor, media personality, politician from the state of Karnataka. Alongside Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan, he is counted ...
, Leelavathi, S. Shivaram,
Jai Jagadish Jai Jagadish (born 29 June 1954) is an Indian actor, producer and director from the Kannada film industry. Starting his career as hero in '' Phalitamsha'' (1976), he went on to feature in over 300 films as an actor. Some of his most notable film ...
, Ashok,
K. S. L. Swamy Kikkeri Shamanna Lakshminarasimha Swamy (21 February 1939 – 20 October 2015), popularly known as K. S. L. Swamy / Lalitha Ravee / Ravee, was an Indian film director, producer, actor and playback singer. He entered cinema at an early age as an ...
and
Rajendra Singh Babu S. V. Rajendra Singh Babu (born 22 October 1952) is an Indian filmmaker and occasional actor who works primarily in Kannada cinema. He was born and brought up in Mysore. His father Shankar Singh produced many films under the banner Mahatma Pict ...
.


Awards and honours

Kanagal received three
National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...
, three
Filmfare Awards South The Filmfare Awards South are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, Malayalam cinema and Kannada cinema. They are presented by ''Filmfare'' magazine of The Times Group. When it was intr ...
and multiple
Karnataka State Film Awards Karnataka State Film Awards are the most notable and prestigious film awards given for Kannada film industry in Karnataka, India. These are considered the highest awards for Kannada language films. They are given annually by the Government ...
. Karnataka state honours film directors and various personalities with
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 ...
in his memory every year during the Karnataka State Awards function.


List of awards and honours


Filmfare Awards South The Filmfare Awards South are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Telugu cinema, Tamil cinema, Malayalam cinema and Kannada cinema. They are presented by ''Filmfare'' magazine of The Times Group. When it was intr ...


National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...


Karnataka State Film Awards Karnataka State Film Awards are the most notable and prestigious film awards given for Kannada film industry in Karnataka, India. These are considered the highest awards for Kannada language films. They are given annually by the Government ...


Filmography


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kanagal, Puttanna 1933 births 1985 deaths Hindi-language film directors Kannada film directors Writers from Mysore Kannada screenwriters Filmfare Awards South winners Businesspeople from Mysore Film producers from Karnataka Film directors from Karnataka Artists from Mysore 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Kannada film cinematographers 20th-century Indian photographers Cinematographers from Karnataka Screenwriters from Karnataka Best Original Screenplay National Film Award winners 20th-century Indian screenwriters