Shankar Nagarkatte, popularly known as Shankar Nag, was a prominent figure in the Kannada film industry. He was a film actor, screenwriter, director, producer, and philanthropist. He is best known for his work in the films Ondanondu Kaladalli (1979), Accident (1985) and S.P.Sangliana (1988). He was also the director and actor of the famous teleserial, Malgudi Days. He died on September 30, 1990 in Bangalore, Karnataka.
EARLY LIFEShankar was born in a Konkani speaking family in Mallapur, Honnavar on 9 November 1954. His family consisted of his parents, Anandi and Sadanand Nagarkatte, elder sister, Shyamala, and elder brother named Ananth Nag. They lived in Shirali, a village near Bhatkal in Uttara Kannada of Karnataka. After his education in Karnataka, he moved to Mumbai and got into theatre. His brother, Ananth Nag, who had become an established actor himself, urged him to move to Karnataka and act in films. He was then offered a role in Ondanondu Kaladalli, which was loosely based on the masterpiece, Seven Samurai.
PERSONAL LIFEIt was in Mumbai that he met his future wife, Arundhati Nag during a drama rehearsals. The couple have a daughter named Kavya Nag.
He died in a car crash at Anagodu village on the outskirts of Davanagere town on 30 September 1990, during the shooting of his film Jokumaraswamy. His wife and daughter, who were in the car with him, were injured but survived the accident.
MOVIE CAREER
AS AN ACTOR
Shankar Nag`s debut film was the largely unnoticed 1978 Marathi movie Sarvasakshi. His debut Kannada film, Ondanondu Kaladalli (1978) however, won him a National Award at the Delhi International Film Festival. Seetha Ramu (1979) was Shankar Nag`s first commercial movie. The film, based on science fiction, was directed by V. Somashekhar.
In 1983, the actor- directed, wrote, and starred in Nodi Swamy Navirodu Hige, which won the Karnataka State Film Award for Third Best Film. A year later, he directed and acted in the film Accident (1984), which won the National Film Award for Best Film on Social Issues. The movie was considered to be a landmark film in Kannada Cinema. Accident also starred his brother Anant Nag and his wife Arundhati Nag.
Shankar is also known for his work in movies like the Karnataka State Film Award-winning Parmeshi Prema Prasanga (1985), Digvijaya (1987), and Nigooda Rahasya (1990). One of the last films he acted in was the 1991 Kannada thriller Sundarakanda, alongside Shivaranjini. Shankar Nag acted in around 80 Kannada films during his film career of around 12 years. He was an unconventional hero and was given the title of "Karate King."
AS A DIRECTOR
Shankar made his directorial debut in 1980 with Minchina Ota. This film was also produced and written by him. Minchina Ota won the Karnataka State Film Award for Second Best Film and the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Screenplay. He then directed and starred in the thriller film Janma Janmada Anubandha (1980). In the year 1983, Shankar directed his first Hindi film, Lalach. The movie starred Vinod Mehra,
Kajal Kiran, and Bindiya Goswami.
After directing and acting in award-winning fims like Nodi Swamy Navirodu Hige (1983) and Accident (1984), Shankar directed The Watchman (1986), which won the National Award for Best Film in English. The last movie he directed before his death was Ondu Muttina Kathe (1987), a cult film in Kannada cinema, fondly known as the first Indian movie to be shot underwater.
TV CAREERShankar was also into theatre and television. He directed Malgudi Days, based on a collection of short stories by R.K. Narayan in 1987, under the banner of Padam Rag Films. He also anchored Parichaya on DD1- Kannada. His brother Anant Nag and he founded SANKET, an amateur theatre group, which still produces plays.