Monday 2 April 2012


G. V. Iyer

G. V. Iyer
Image of a bearded Indian man. This person is G. V. Iyer, an Indian director
Image of G. V. Iyer
Born1917
NanjanagudMysore
Died2003 (aged 85–86)
Mumbai
NationalityIndian
Other namesGanapathi Venkatrama Iyer
Citizenship IND
OccupationActorDirector
Known forSanskrit film direction
Notable work(s) Swami Vivekananda (1998)
Ganapathi Venkatrama Iyer (Kannada:ಗಣಪತಿ ವೆಂಕಟನಾರಾಯಣ ಅಯ್ಯರ್ ) (known as G. V. Iyer) (1917 - December 21, 2003) was a well known Indian film director and actor. He was nicknamed "Kannada Bheeshma", and was the only person who made movies in SanskritAdi Shankaracharya (1983) and which won four National Film Award, including Best FilmBest ScreenplayBest Cinematography and Best Audiography.[2][3]. His films were well-known for their spiritual themes. He was born in 1917 in Nanjanagud in Mysore district of Karnataka state in South India. His most critically acclaimed film was Bhagavad Gita (1993) (1993), which won the National Film Award for Best Film and was nominated for Best Film at the Bogotá Film Festival.

Career


A scene from Iyer's 1983 film Adi Shankaracharya
He started his career at the age of eight when he joined the Gubbi Veeranna theatre group. His first role as an actor in cinema was in the film Radharamana. Besides this he acted in a number of other movies such as Mahakavi KalidasaSodhariHemavatiHari Bhaktha and Bedara Kannapa.
He soon started directing his own movies. The movie Hamsageethe (music by Dr. BalamuralikrishnaB. V. Karanth and T.G. Lingappa) was extremely well received and made him famous. Iyer wrote scripts, lyrics and produced and directed many commercial Kannada movies. Iyer’s biggest effort was Ranadheera Kanteerava. He continued making commercial movies until 1970.
He was proficient in both Kannada and Sanskrit and was soon to make the first movie in Sanskrit, about the famous philosopher Adi Shankara (1983). The movie received the National Film Awardsfor Best FilmBest ScreenplayBest Cinematography and Audiography and has been known as a master piece. It is believed that the movie made a great impact on Iyer. It was remarked that he stopped wearing footwear after making the movie.
He later went on to make a movie on Madhvacharya in Kannada and Ramanujacharya in Tamil. He also made a remarkable Sanskrit movie Bhagavad Gita (1993), which won Best Film at theNational Film Awards of 1993.[5] The film was also nominated for Best Film at the Bogotá Film Festival.
He also produced a television series Natyarani Shanthala , a historical, on the Hoysala Jain queen Shanthala, who was married to a Vaishnava King. It was re-made in Hindi as well as in Kannada. It was based on several works by Samethanahalli Rama Rao in Kannada.

He later went on to make a movie Swami Vivekananda. It was an attempt to portray Swami Vivekananda, realistically. Though it had many famous actors such as Mithun ChakrabortyHema Maliniand Sarvadaman Banerjee, the movie failed to become a commercial success.
He was planning a film based on the Hindu epic Ramayana, with Sanjay Dutt playing the role of Ravana, before his sudden death on December 21 2003 at the age of 87. His last rites took place at his Bharadhwaja Ashrama, near Dodda Aladamara, on the outskirts of Bangalore, near Kengeri.

Filmography

Director


Cover art of Swami Vivekananda (film)(1995)
  • 1962 Bhoodana
  • 1962 Thai Karulu
  • 1962 Thayin Karuna
  • 1963 Bangari
  • 1963 Layaru Magalu
  • 1964 Postmaster
  • 1966 Kiladi Ranga
  • 1967 Rajasekara
  • 1968 Mysore Tonga
  • 1968 Nane Bhagyavathi
  • 1969 Chowkada Deepa
  • 1969 Vichitra Samsara
  • 1975 Aakhri Geet
  • 1975 Hamse Geethe
  • 1976 Nalegannu Maduvavara
  • 1977 Kudre Motte
  • 1983 Adi Shankaracharya
  • 1986 Madhavacharya
  • 1989 Ramanujacharya
  • 1989 Wall Poster
  • 1993 Bhagvad Gita: Song of the Lord
  • 1998 Swami Vivekananda

Actor

  • 1954 Bedara Kannapa
  • 1955 Bhakta Mallikarjuna
  • 1956 Sadarame
  • 1960 Ranadheera Kanteerava
  • 1961 Kantheredu Nodu
  • 1971 Vamsha Vriksha
  • 1977 Hemavathi

Writer

Awards

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