Dharwad greatly influenced my father’s work, says Raghu Karnad

Dharwad: “Genius,” was how doyen of Marathi theatre, and veteran actor Mohan Agashe summed up Jnanpith award recipient and late Kannada playwright Girish Karnad at an event in Dharwad on Saturday. Agashe, recalling his decades’-long association with the playwright, said that Karnad was singular in his possession of cultural, social, academic, and emotional intellect.

Agashe, participating in an event organised at

Srujana Auditorium

by

Chitra Film Society

to celebrate the legacy of Girish Karnad, reminisced about the time he had spent with the playwright in Mumbai and Pune. “As the director of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune, Karnad, despite facing resistance from political circles, had ensured the staging of a play,” said Agashe, who lamented not having seen Karnad at his house in Dharwad. “Karnad had an emotional connect with his house in Dharwad,” said Agashe, who has appeared in several Hindi films as well.

Girish’s son

Raghu Karnad

, meanwhile, recalled his father’s love for Dharwad. “His literary, academic and creative output were all influenced by Dharwad, and its environment,” said Raghu, who read out nuggets from the English translation of Girish Karnad’s autobiography ‘Aadaadta Aayushya’.

Srinath Perur, who translated the autobiography, too shared his thoughts on the multi-facetted playwright, and a luminary of Kannada literature.

A discussion on Girish Karnad’s award-winning play ‘Taledanda’, screening of his film ‘Ondanondu Kaaladalli’ were among the other highlights of the event. Linguist Ganesh Devy, president of Chitra Film Society Ramakant Joshi and its secretary AM Khan were among those in attendance at the event.

The event, which will continue on Sunday, will feature a documentary, wherein Girish Karnad is engaged in conversation with fellow Kannada author Vivek Shanbag, while film director B Suresh will speak about his soon-to-be released book on the playwright. Litterateur

Rajendra Chenni

will offer critical insights on Girish Karnad’s contribution to literature, while KM Chaitanya, director of the film ‘Aa Dinagalu’ will touch upon the man’s ventures on celluloid. The programme will conclude with the screening of the Girish Karnad-helmed film ‘Utsav’.