Hunsur Krishnamurthy (9 February 1914 – 13 February 1989) was an Indian playwright, film director, producer, actor, screenwriter and lyricist in Kannada cinema.
He worked with noted theatre personalities early in his career; Gubbi Veeranna, Mohammed Peer and B. R. Panthulu before entering films. As a film director, he made films mostly in the mythological genre such as Satya Harishchandra (1965), Bhakta Kumbara (1974) and Babruvahana (1977), all of which star Rajkumar. The films were major critical and commercial successes and are seen as milestones in Kannada cinema and in the career of Rajkumar.
Career
Theatre Prior to working in films, Krishnamurthy worked in theatre as a playwright, writing plays such as Swarga Samrajya. He then worked for the Bangalore-based Bharat Nataka Company as a playwright and a scenarist, following which, he had a stint at Bombay Talkies. He then worked as a part of Marathi stage actor Bal Gandharva's theatre troupe. During that time, he also worked with famed Kannada theatre personalities Gubbi Veeranna and Mohamed Peer. In 1936, during his work with the latter in his drama company Chandrakala Natak, he worked with B. R. Panthulu, another popular theatre personality at the time, in his play Samsara Nauke, as an assistant director.
Films Krishnamurthy entered the Kannada cinema primarily as a dialogue writer for films such as Hemareddy Mallamma (1945) and Krishnaleele (1947). He also wrote the screenplay for the films. Writing lyrics for the soundtracks of films such as Kanyadana, (1954), Devakannika (1954) and Sodari (1955), he made his debut as a director in the 1958 mythological film Shree Krishna Gaarudi, that features Rajkumar in the lead role, an actor who would go on to dominate Kannada cinema as an actor for over two decades. Krishnamurthy followed this up with other films such as Veera Sankalpa (1964), Satya Harishchandra (1965), Sri Kannika Parameshwari Kathe (1966), Bhakta Kumbara (1974), Babruvahana (1977), Bhakta Siriyala (1980), Bhakta Dnyanadeva (1982) and Shiva Kotta Sowbhagya (1985). Most of his films in the mythological genre had Rajkumar playing the lead role. Commercial successes during the time, they were instrumental in shaping Rajkumar's career as an actor. His film Satya Harishchandra won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada at the 13th National Film Awards, and is seen as a milestone in Kannada cinema. His 1977 film Veera Sindhoora Lakshmana, which was based on the life of Lakshmana, a freedom fighter who fought the British during the Indian freedom struggle, was major commercial success.
Actors M. P. Shankar and Rajesh were introduced by him in his films; Shankar in Rathnamanjari (1962) and Rajesh in Veera Sankalpa.
Filmography
YearTitleLanguageDirectorProducerScreenwriterActorLyricist Role Notes 1945 Hemareddy Mallamma Kannada 1947 Krishnaleele Kannada 1950 Shiva Parvathi Kannada 1951 Janganmohini Kannada 1953 Sowbhagya Lakshmi Kannada 1954 Madiddunno Maharaya Kannada 1954 Kanyadana Kannada 1954 Devakannika Kannada 1955 Sodari Kannada 1956 Muttaide Bhagya Kannada 1957 Nala Damayanti Kannada 1958 Shree Krishna Gaarudi Kannada 1960 Aasha Sundari Kannada 1960 Bhakta Kanakadasa Kannada 1961 Mera Suhaag Hindi 1961 Nagarjuna Kannada 1961 Bhakta Cheta Kannada 1962 Shri Dharmasthala Mahatme Kannada 1962 Ratnamanjari Kannada 1964 Veera Sankalpa Kannada 1965 Satya Harishchandra Kannada Won, National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada 1965 Maduve Madi Nodu Kannada 1966 Sri Kanyaka Parameshwari Kathe Kannada 1967 Devara Gedda Manava Kannada 1967 Devuni Gelichina Manavudu Telugu 1968 Adda Dari Kannada (final film role) 1971 Vishakanya Kannada 1972 Jaga Mechida Maga Kannada 1972 Bangaarada Manushya Kannada 1974 Bhakta Kumbara Kannada 1975 Mantra Shakthi Kannada 1977 Babruvahana Kannada 1977 Veera Sindhoora Lakshmana Kannada 1979 Kurubara Lakkanu Elizabeth Raniau Kannada 1980 Bhakta Siriyala Kannada 1980 Guru Sarvabhowma Sri Raghavendra Karune Kannada 1981 Edeyuru Siddalingeshwara Mahatme Kannada 1981 Shiva Mahima Malayalam 1982 Bhakta Dnyanadeva Kannada 1984 Shiva Kanye Kannada 1985 Shiva Kotta Sowbhagya Kannada
Awards
National Film Awards 1965 - Best Kannada Film – Sathya Harishchandra 1965 - Third Best Kannada Film – Maduve Madi Nodu Karnataka State Film Awards 1973-74 - Best Dialogue Writer – Boothayyana Maga Ayyu 1974-75 - Third Best Film – Bhaktha Kumbara 1981-82 - Best Dialogue Writer – Edeyooru Siddalingeshwara 1986-87 - Lt. Puttanna Kanagal Award
References
External links