Venkatappa Somashekhar (27 July 1937 – 22 August 2003) was an Indian

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

, producer and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

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 ...

and

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...

. In 40 years of his career as a director, he directed 49 films, including commercial successes such as ''

Premada Kanike ''Premada Kanike'' ( ) is a 1976 Indian Kannada-language crime thriller film directed by V. Somashekhar and written by the duo Salim–Javed. It was produced by Jayadevi under the banner of Jayadevi films. The film starred Rajkumar, Aarathi a ...

'' (1976), '' Shankar Guru'' (1978), ''

Seetharamu ''Seetharamu'' () is a 1979 Indian Kannada-language science fiction action film directed by V. Somashekhar. The film stars Shankar Nag, Manjula and Thoogudeepa Srinivas. It is based on a science fiction plot involving a brain transplant. The fi ...

'' (1979) and ''

Chakravyuha The Padmavyūha () or Chakravyūha () is a military formation used to surround enemies, depicted in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. It resembles a labyrinth of multiple defensive walls. Background The Padmavyūha is a multi-tiered defensive ...

'' (1983). Widely known for action-oriented movies, he was much sought as a hit-machine. Following his directorial career, he worked as the President of Kannada Film Directors Association. Recognizing his contribution to Kannada cinema, 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 ...

in 2001.

Career

In 1955, in

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

(now Chennai), at the age of 18, Somashekhar entered cinema hoping to become an actor and started as a

clapperboard A clapperboard, also known as a dumb slate, clapboard, film clapper, film slate, bertolo clapz, movie slate, or production slate, is a device used in filmmaking, television production and video production to assist in synchronizing of picture ...

operator. He then appeared in uncredited film roles before working as a dubbing artist. Following this, he worked as an assistant director to popular film directors at the time, R. Nagendra Rao, N. G. Rajan, Y. R. Swamy, Ramamurthy and Babu Rao. Somashekhar started out as an independent director with the 1974 film ''

Bangaarada Panjara ''Bangaarada Panjara'' ( ) is a 1974 Indian Kannada-language comedy film directed by debutant V. Somashekhar and co-produced by actor Raja Shankar. It starred Dr. Rajkumar in the lead role along with Aarathi, K. S. Ashwath, Pandari Bai and Lok ...

'' starring Rajkumar in the lead role. The film was a commercial success. Collaborating with Rajkumar, he followed this up with other hit films such as ''

'' (1976), '' Shankar Guru'' (1978), ''

Thayige Thakka Maga ''Thayige Thakka Maga'' ( ) is a 1978 Indian Kannada-language sports action film directed by V. Somashekhar and produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar. It is based on the story written by Anjaneya Pushpanand. The film starred Rajkumar as a boxe ...

'' (1978), ''

Havina Hede ''Havina Hede'' ( ) is a 1981 Indian Kannada-language action film directed by V. Somashekhar and produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar. The film featured Rajkumar and Sulakshana playing the pivotal roles. The film was written by M. D. Sundar and ...

'' (1981) and ''

Parashuram Parashurama (), also referred to as Rama Jamadagnya, Rama Bhargava and Virarama, is the sixth avatar among the Dashavatara of the preserver god Vishnu in Hinduism. Hindu tradition holds him to be the destroyer of the evil on Earth. According t ...

'' (1989). He was instrumental in building the career of

Shankar Nag Shankar Nagarakatte (9 November 1954 – 30 September 1990) was an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, and producer known for his work in Kannada-language films and television. A popular cultural icon of Karnataka, Nag is often referred to as ...

as an action hero, directing him in films such as ''

'' (1979), ''Aarada Gaaya'' (1980) and ''Devara Aata'' (1981). He directed

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 ...

in the 1983 film ''

'' for Eshwari Productions, after their previous venture ''Ajith'' ran well. ''

'', a commercial success, was remade in Hindi as '' Inquilaab'', and revived the latter's career following a series of failures. Ambareesh went on to do a string of movies with Somashekhar, namely ''Gajendra'', ''Chaduranga'', ''Deverelliddaane'', ''

Mrugaalaya ''Mrugaalaya'' () is a 1986 Indian Kannada-language action drama film directed by V. Somashekhar and produced by M. P. Shankar. The film stars Ambareesh, Geetha, Shivaram and Sundar Krishna Urs. The film has musical score by Rajan–Nagendra. ...

'', ''Bete'', ''Mr Raja'' and ''Bedi'', each having a tone of a rebel hero fighting against the corrupt, earning the sobriquet "Rebel Star." With Vishnuvardhan, he worked in the film ''Kalinga'' (1980) and ''Chanakya'' (1984). Other popular films directed by him include ''Point Parimala'' (1980), ''

Ranaranga ''Ranaranga'' () is a 1988 Indian Kannada-language action film directed by V. Somashekhar and written by N. T. Jayarama Reddy. The film stars Shiva Rajkumar, Sudharani and Tara. Produced by Shivarajkumar's mother, Parvathamma Rajkumar under ...

'' (1988) and ''S. P. Bhargavi'' (1981). In the late 80s, he floated a production house — ''Vijaya Shekhar Productions'' with another director Vijay and collaborated with writer CV Shivashankar and made a string of successful movies.

Final years and death

Following his film career as a director after retiring in 1992, Somashekhar associated himself with the Kannada Film Directors Association, serving as its president and as a working committee member of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce. Recognizing his contribution to Kannada cinema, he was awarded the

in 2001, for 1999–2000.The Hindu : Shivaraj, Tara, Anu bag State film awards
/ref> He took to agriculture in the following years and also suffered from renal disorder during this time. He died on 22 August 2003, at a hospital in

St. John's Medical College St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences is a private university, private medical school, medical college and hospital situated in Bengaluru, India. It is part of the St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences run by the Catholic Bis ...

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 ...

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Somashekhar, V. 1937 births 2003 deaths Kannada film producers Kannada film directors Malayalam film directors Deaths from kidney failure in India Kannada screenwriters People from Bengaluru Urban district Film directors from Karnataka Film producers from Karnataka Screenwriters from Karnataka 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Indian screenwriters