C. R. Simha

C. R. Simha (Kannada: ಸಿ. ಆರ್. ಸಿಂಹ ), real name Channapatna Ramaswami Simha (Kannada: ಚನ್ನಪಟ್ನ ರಾಮಸ್ವಾಮಿ ಸಿಂಹ), was an Indian actor, director, dramatist and a playwright. He was best known for his work in Kannada films and for his work in stage shows. Starting his career in Prabhat Kalavidaru, a famous theatre group based in Bangalore, he acted in numerous Kannada plays which reached the cult status. He started his own theatre group called "Nataranga" in 1972 and directed many successful plays such as Kakanakote, Thughlaq and Sankranthi.

Simha also directed and enacted in the Shakespeare's Kannada adaptation ofMidsummer Night's Dream and Othello. These plays found a widespread presentation across many states in India. Following this, he directed and acted in many English plays written by eminent personalities such as Moliere, Bernard Shaw, Edward Albee and Neil Simon among others. Apart from theatre, Simha acted in more than 150 feature films in Kannada which include both artistic and commercially viable projects. He also directed about five feature films with the most prominent being his own film adaptation of Kaakana Kote.

Simha has been felicitated with many prestigious awards in both cinema and theatre fields. In 2003, he was awarded with the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award by the Government of India recognizing his contribution to the theatre acting and direction. CR Simha expired on 28th Febraury 2014.

Early life

Simha was born in Karnataka on 16 June 1942. His younger brother Srinath is a famous film actor who acted in several mainstream Kannada cinema as both the leading actor and supporting actor.

Simha appeared on stage at the age of twelve. He was a student of National College at Basavanagudi, Bangalore. As a member of the Histronics Club, he acted in many Kannada plays like "Bahaddur Ganda" and "Manavemba Markata".

Career

Theatre

Simha, along with his friends, started a theatre group called "Nataranga" in 1972. He acted in and directed many successful plays likeKakanakote, Thuglaq among others.

Simha also acted in and directed straight translations of Shakespeare's world famous plays such as Midsummer Night's Dream andOthello, which besides Karnataka, were also performed in Delhi, Bombay (Mumbai), Madras (Chennai) & Calcutta (Kolkata). In 1960, Simha became a member of "Bangalore Little Theatre" (BLT) and since then directed some of the reputed English plays which included his portrayal of Cyrana-De-Bergerac which was hailed as a memorable performance. His other notable works for BLT were Utpal Dutt's Suryashikar and Girish Karnad's Thuglaq.

In 1983, Simha started another theatre group called "Vedhike" in which his one man show Typical Kailasam became a huge success. It was the first amateur Kannada play to be performed abroad. It saw several shows in United States of America, Canada, and England creating history. Some of the other notable plays which made news through "Vedhike" are Meese Bandoru, Bhairavi, Karna.Rasa Rishi Kuvempu, Macbeth, Maduve Maduve, Haavu Yeni and 8/15. Among these, Rasa Rishi Kuvempu based on the life and literature of Kuvempu, is now made into a film, directed by Simha's son Rithwik Simha, in which Simha plays the role of Kuvempu.

Films

Besides making his strong presence in theatre, Simha was also a popular mainstream character actor in numerous Kannada films. He acted in close to 150 feature films. His portrayal of roles varied from critically acclaimed award winning films like Samskara, Bara,Chithegoo Chinte and Anuroopa and also in commercially acclaimed films such as Indina Ramayana, Nee Bareda Kadambari,Parameshi Prema Prasanga, Rayaru Bandaru Mavana Manege, Nee Thanda Kanike among several others.

Besides acting, Simha has directed 5 films including Kakanakote, Shikaari, Simhasana, Ashwamedha (1990) and Angayalli Apsare(1993).

Television

Simha made his strong presence in television too and acted in several tele-serials in Kannada, Hindi and English languages. This includes the most famous worldwide serial Malgudi Days. Another noteworthy serial was Goruru In America based on the travelogue written by the humorist Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar. Simha played the part of Gorur and the serial was shot extensively in America including Newyork, Washington D.C., Niagara Falls, Disneyland and Universal Studios - Hollywood.

Publications

Simha has written and published five plays in Kannada. He was a popular columnist, he wrote a column called "Nimma Simha" every Friday for six years in the popular daily newspaper Vijaya Karnataka and three volumes of this are published in the Book forum.

Death

Simha died at a private hospital in Bangalore on 28 February 2014.