Remembering Shankar Nag: A vision that lives on

It felt like stepping back in time as actor-theatre personality Prakash Belawadi and actor Master Manjunath sat down to remember the late Shankar Nag — not as a legend, but as the man they knew. The conversation, held as part of Blr Hub ba, was filled with laughter, wonder, and awe at how relevant Shankar Nag remains even today. Karthikeyan Sairam Prakash recalled his very first interaction with Shankar Nag during the shoot of Nodiswamy Naavu Iruvudu Hege. He had gone to meet him to work as a lighting engineer for the play. “That was my introduction to him,” he said, adding that Shankar Nag was deeply spiritual, performing rituals to the Naga Devathe at his farm with complete faith and sincerity. Malgudi Days, Prakash remembered fondly, was first shot on celluloid. “He was adventurous, always wanting to try something new,” he said.
One such idea came as early as 1986, when Shankar Nag returned from London carrying newspapers filled with stories about metro systems. He envisioned Bengaluru’s metro decades ago — an underground network that would have cost `1,800 crore if it had taken shape then. For Master Manjunath, the memories were even more personal. “I first met him when I was three,” he said. By the time they worked together on Malgudi Days, Shankar Nag felt less like a director and more like an older friend. “Age never mattered to him. He made me feel like I belonged,” he said. Manjunath laughed as he recalled Shankar Nag arriving on a Luna moped for a shoot, people staring around suspiciously, convinced there must be a hidden camera somewhere. “The lyrics of Nodi Swami fit him perfectly,” he said.

Shooting with Shankar Nag was effortless — almost informal, recalls Manjunath. He would walk into strangers’ homes and say, “Five minutes, I’ll finish off. Wait maadi”. Five minutes often became half a day, but no one ever complained. Tenants never worried. He changed costumes in public spaces without a second thought, shot at the High Court and Vidhana Soudha as casually as knocking on someone’s door, and once even had masala dosa inside the MTR kitchen. “He was never embarrassed to ask for food, or help, or space,” Manjunath said, adding, “He never believed in ‘not possible’. If something had to be done, he found a way.” Simple, street-smart, fearless, and endlessly visionary — especially when it came to rigs, setups, and ideas — Shankar Nag, they both agreed, wasn’t just ahead of his time. He was timeless.Get the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”