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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. He is often considered one of Kannada cinema's most influential filmmakers.[1][2]

This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. (October 2013)

Puttanna Kanagal
Born	Shubraveshti Ramaswamiah Seetharama Sharma (1933-12-01)1 December 1933 Kanagal, Kingdom of Mysore
Died	5 June 1985(1985-06-05) (aged 51) Bangalore, India
Nationality	Indian
Other names	Puttanna, Seetharama Sharma
Occupation	Film director, producer, screenwriter
Years active	1957–1985
Spouse(s)	Nagalakshmi Aarathi (1976-1981)
Children	5
Relatives	Kanagal Prabhakara Shastry (brother)

Background and personal life

Puttanna Kanagal was born to Ramaswamaiah and Subbamma in Kanagal, a village in the erstwhile Kingdom of Mysore into a poor family.[3] As he hailed from a poor brahmin family,[4] 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.[2] His association with films began when he started working for B. R. Panthulu as an assistant director and also as his driver.[2] 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 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 separated in 1981.

In 1981 Puttanna's magnum opus Ranganayaki 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 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 and Dharmasere came to his help, and they made Maanasa Sarovara which became an average hit and helped Puttanna bounce back. His later films like Amruta Ghalige and Runamukthalu did reasonably well. Kanagal died on 5 June 1985 in Bengaluru while shooting Masanada Hoovu.

Starting his career as a publicity boy, Kanagal was drawn into independent filmmaking after a stint in theatre and working with film director and producer B. R. Panthulu as his assistant.[5] Kanagal's assistants include Tamil directors S. P. Muthuraman, Bharathiraja,[6][7] and T. S. Nagabharana.[8]

Although a majority of Kanagal's films were on offbeat or taboo subjects, generally women-centric,[5] 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, based on a novel of the same name by M. K. Indira is considered a landmark film.[2] He would go on to direct other films such as Kappu Bilupu (1969), Sharapanjara (1971), Naagarahaavu (1972), Edakallu Guddada Mele (1973), Shubhamangala (1975) and Ranganayaki (1981), all of which are seen as milestones in Kannada cinema.[9] He also directed a handful of films in Malayalam, Tamil Telugu and Hindi languages.

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 (Cat eyed/Hazel eyed lady) based on the Kannada novel Bekkina Kannu by Triveni. Puttanna's first Kannada film as a director was Bellimoda (Silver Cloud) in 1967. Starring Kalpana and Kalyan Kumar, 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 is credited as the first Kannada movie to be shot exclusively outdoors. He directed many masterpieces like Gejje Pooje, Sharapanjara, Naagarahaavu etc. '. His last film was Savira Mettilu, which never released during his lifetime.

He also provided a platform for many actors such as Kalpana, Aarathi, Leelavathi, Jayanthi, Padma Vasanthi, Srinath, Rajinikanth, Vishnuvardhan, Ambareesh, Jai Jagadish, Chandra Shekhar, Gangadhar, Shivaram, Vajramuni, Sridhar, Ramakrishna and Aparna to showcase their talents.

In devotion to Puttanna, Dr.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 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 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:[10]

Q) You have stated in many interviews that you consider Puttanna Kanagal (Kannada filmmaker), though younger than you, as your guru in filmmaking. 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.[11] While his plots, based on popular Kannada novels,[12] 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, 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, 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.[13] Poonam Theatre in Jayanagar, Bangalore 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, V. Manohar and the Democratic Youth Federation of India[14] and was scheduled for demolition in July 2012[15] but later saved and remodeled.[16] In June 2015, the 30th anniversary of his death was honored with an event organized by the Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy and guests and speakers included Ambareesh, Leelavathi, S. Shivaram, Jai Jagadish, Ashok, K. S. L. Swamy and Rajendra Singh Babu.[9]

Awards and honours

Kanagal received three National Film Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and multiple Karnataka State Film Awards. Karnataka state honours film directors and various personalities with Puttanna Kanagal Award in his memory every year during the Karnataka State Awards function.[17][18]

List of awards and honours

Filmfare Awards South

List of movies, showing the year (award ceremony), film(s), award(s)
Year	Movie	Award	Refs.
21st Filmfare Awards South	Edakallu Guddada Mele	Filmfare Award for Best Director – Kannada
27th Filmfare Awards South	Dharmasere	Filmfare Award for Best Director – Kannada
29th Filmfare Awards South	Ranganayaki	Filmfare Award for Best Director – Kannada

National Film Awards

List of movies, showing the year (award ceremony), film(s), award(s)
Year	Movie	Award	Refs.
1969 (17th)	Gejje Pooje	Best Screenplay	[19]
1969 (17th)	Gejje Pooje	Best Feature Film in Kannada	[19]
1972 (20th)	Sharapanjara	Best Feature Film in Kannada	[20]

Karnataka State Film Awards

List of movies, showing the year (award ceremony), film(s), award(s)
Year	Movie	Award	Refs.
1967-68	Belli Moda	Best Film (Second)
1967-68	Belli Moda	Best Screenplay
1969-70	Gejje Pooje	Best Film (First)
1969-70	Gejje Pooje	Best Screenplay
1970-71	Sharapanjara	Best Film (First)
1970-71	Sharapanjara	Best Screenplay
1972-73	Naagarahaavu	Best Film (Second)
1972-73	Naagarahaavu	Best Screenplay
1974-75	Upasane	Best Film (First)
1974-75	Upasane	Best Screenplay
1975-76	Katha Sangama	Best Film (Fourth)
1980-81	Ranganayaki	Best Film (First)
1983-84	Amrutha Ghalige	Best Screenplay

Filmography

Year	Film	Cast	Notes
1964	School Master	Prem Nazir, K. Balaji	Malayalam Remake of School Master (Kannada)
1964	Kalanjukittiya Thankam	Sathyan, Ambika	Malayalam Remake of Gaali Gopura (Kannada)
1965	Chettathi	Prem Nazir, Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair, Sathyan, Ambika, Adoor Bhasi, Sukumari	Malayalam Core plot partially inspired by the Kannada novel Hannele Chiguridaga by Triveni
1965	Pakkalo Ballem	Kantha Rao, Rajasri	Telugu
1966	Mayor Nair	Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair, Kottarakkara Sreedharan Nair, Meena,	Malayalam Adaptation of Thomas Hardy's novel The Mayor of Casterbridge
1967	Belli Moda	Kalyan Kumar, Kalpana, Pandari Bai	Debut Kannada film Karnataka State Film Award for Best Film Based on the novel of same name by Triveni Remade in Malayalam as Swapnabhoomi and in Telugu as Palamanasulu
1966	Poocha Kanni	Prem Nazir, Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair, Adoor Bhasi	Malayalam Based on the Kannada novel Bekkina Kannu by Triveni
1967	Swapnabhoomi	Prem Nazir, Sathyan	Malayalam Remake of Belli Moda (Kannada)
1968	Teacheramma	Jaishankar, Vanisri, R. Muthuraman	Tamil Remade in Malayalam as Premashilpi
1968	Palamanasulu	Harinath, Jamuna, Pandari Bai	Telugu Remake of Belli Moda (Kannada)
1969	Mallammana Pavada	Rajkumar, B. Saroja Devi, Vajramuni, Dwarakish	Kannada Based on the novel Ardhaangi by B. Puttaswamayya
1969	Kappu Bilupu	R. N. Sudarshan, Kalpana, Balakrishna	Kannada Based on a novel of the same name by Aryambha Pattabhi Remade in Tamil as Irulum Oliyum and in Telugu as Iddaru Ammayilu
1969	Gejje Pooje	Kalpana, Gangadhar, Leelavathi, Aarathi, K. S. Ashwath	Kannada National Film Award for Best Screenplay National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada Karnataka State Film Award for Best Film Based on the novel Gejje Pooje by M. K. Indira Remade in Tamil as Thaaliya Salangaiya , in Telugu as Kalyana Mandapam and in Hindi as Ahista Ahista which further inspired the 2007 Hindi movie Laaga Chunari Mein Daag
1970	Karulina Kare	Rajkumar, Kalpana	Kannada
1971	Sudarum Sooravaliyum	Gemini Ganesan, Nirmala, R. Muthuraman	Tamil
1971	Sharapanjara	Kalpana, Gangadhar	Kannada National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada Karnataka State Film Award for Best Film Based on the novel of same name by Triveni Remade in Telugu as Krishnaveni (1974)
1971	Sakshatkara	Rajkumar, Jamuna, Prithviraj Kapoor	Kannada
1971	Irulum Oliyum	A. V. M. Rajan, Vanisri, Nagesh	Tamil Remake of Kappu Bilupu (1969)
1972	Iddaru Ammayilu	Shoban Babu, Vanisri, Gummadi	Telugu Remake of Kappu Bilupu (1969)
1972	Naagarahaavu	Vishnuvardhan, Aarathi, Ambareesh	Kannada Karnataka State Film Award for Best Film Based on T. R. Subba Rao's three novels Nagarahavu, Ondu Gandu Eradu Hennu and Sarpa Mathsara Remade in Hindi as Zehreela Insaan , in Tamil as Raja Nagam and in Telugu as Kode Nagu
1973	Edakallu Guddada Mele	Jayanthi, Aarathi, Ranga, Chandrashekar	Kannada Filmfare Award for Best Kannada Director Based on the novel of same name by Bharathisutha which was an adaptation of the English novel Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence
1974	Upasane	Aarathi, Dr. Mannur, Seetharam	Kannada Based on the novel of the same name by Devaki Murthy
1974	Zehreela Insaan	Rishi Kapoor, Moushumi Chatterjee, Neetu Singh	Hindi Remake of Naagarahaavu
1975	Katha Sangama	Aarathi, Rajinikanth, Gangadhar, Kalyan Kumar, B. Saroja Devi	Kannada Karnataka State Film Award for Best Film Based on three short stories - Hangu by Giraddi Govindaraj, Athithi by Veena and Munithaayi by Eshwara Chandra Tamil movie Kai Kodukkum Kai was a partially based on this movie as an extended version of the Munithaayi segment
1975	Shubhamangala	Srinath, Aarathi	Kannada Based on novel of same nam by Vani
1975	Bili Hendthi	Aarathi, Margaret Thomson, Anil Kumar, Ambareesh	Kannada
1976	Phalitamsha	Aarathi, Jai Jagadish	Kannada Based on the story Golagummata by Srinivasa Kulakarni
1976	College Ranga	Kalyan Kumar, Leelavathi	Kannada Based on novel of same name by B. G. L. Swamy
1978	Paduvaaralli Pandavaru	Ramakrishna, Ambareesh, Jai Jagadish	Kannada Remade in Hindi as Hum Paanch and in Telugu as Mana Voori Pandavulu
1979	Dharmasere	Srinath, Aarathi	Kannada Filmfare Award for Best Kannada Director Based on a novel of same name by Jada Bharata
1980	Hum Paanch	Sanjeev Kumar, Raj Babbar, Shabana Azmi, Deepti Naval	Hindi (as Writer) Remake of Paduvaaralli Pandavaru
1981	Ranganayaki	Aarathi, Ashok, Ambareesh, Ramakrishna	Kannada Filmfare Award for Best Kannada Director Based on the novel of same name by Ashwattha
1982	Maanasa Sarovara	Srinath, Ramakrishna, Padma Vasanthi	Kannada Core plot of the movie was reported to be influenced by the 1913 play Pygmalion [21]
1983	Dharani Mandala Madhyadolage	Srinath, Chandrashekar, Padma Vasanthi, Vijayalakshmi Singh	Kannada
1984	Amrutha Ghalige	Ramakrishna, Padma Vasanthi	Kannada Based on the novel Avadhana by Dodderi Venkatagiri Rao
1984	Runamukthalu	Bharathi, Ramakrishna, Padma Vasanthi	Kannada Based on the novel Runa by Anupama Niranjana
1985	Masanada Hoovu	Ambareesh, Jayanthi, Hema Choudhary, Aparna	Kanagal Died while directing halfway. Remaining of the film was directed by K. S. L. Swamy Based on the novel of same name by T. R. Subba Rao
2006	Savira Mettilu	Jayanthi, Kalyan Kumar, K. S. Ashwath, Ambareesh, Hema Choudhary, Ramakrishna, Vajramuni	Kannada Movie which was partially shot and shelved was completed and released

References

External links

• Puttanna Kanagal at IMDb

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