Anant Nag, who was honored with Padma Bhushan a month ago, dedicated a long delayed recognition to the people of Karnataka. The experienced actor felt the result of respect for three to four years of tireless support from his fans, including all generations cinefiles.

“In 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the concept of ‘People’s Padma’. He urged the people of India to participate in the nomination process for the awards. Kannadigus and the members of the film industry participated. Padma for

Padma Bhushan is probably the biggest milestone in Anant Nag’s checker career, which “never becomes an actor.” A concrete tenure at the theater in Mumbai and a successful collaboration with Shyam Benegal set a strong base for his acting journey.

Even Amitabh Bachchan’s Angry Young Man character fired people’s imagination in several blockbuster films, director Benegal pioneered a new wave in Hindi cinema in the 1970s. Anant Nag acted in five consecutive Benegal films (sproutNishant, Manthan, Bhumika, And Kondura,

“Every language was watching a parallel cinema movement. Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, and Ritvik Ghatak were making the new wave champion in Bengali cinema. Malayalam watched the works of Adoor Gopalakrishnan, and there were films from Kannada rites (1970), Left Taurus (1971), and Shankalpa (1972), my beginning. Although he had roots in Karnataka and was born and was born in Hyderabad, Shyam was sure that he would make his films in Hindi, “he says about the acclaimed filmmaker, who died in 90 December, 2024.

Known for his natural performances, Anant Nag has always emphasized that “acting is behaving.” Was complicated characters painted in parallel films at the beginning of their career? “I worked with renowned theater director Satyadev Dubey in Mumbai. He says, ‘Give it your way’, he remembers.

From Art House Projects to mainstream films, actor Anant Nag has made a versatile journey in the film industry. , Photo Credit: Sudhakar Jain

“Many actors will perform exaggerated in Hindi commercial films. When I watched some English movies, especially historical like Ben Har (1959) And Backet (1964), and the works of Marlon Brando, I saw natural acting and influenced it, ”he says.

At the beginning of his career, Anant Nag found it difficult to convince the filmmakers about his style. “In Kannada, filmmakers called my style ‘Bengali style’. During the shooting, they will tell me that they could not see my performance. It was like a slap on my face. I would ask them to take out a crowd and check a crowd once. If they were not satisfied with my efforts, I was ready to make a separate step.

Anant Nag and his younger brother Shankar Nag formed a great partnership in Kannada cinema. Until the sudden demise of Shankar Nag in a car accident in 1990, the Nag brothers made many material-oriented films, including. Minchina OTA (1981) And Accident (1984), Both films were directed by Shankar and produced by Nag Brothers.

Also read:Lives on public Shankar

Even though critics liked Minchina Ota, The social thriller did not perform well at the box office. “I predicted the fate of the film, so we kept a low budget. The film won seven awards. However, some people brought a stay order for the awards for some reason. This showed that he lacked a sportsmanship. We did not make that film for the awards. We wanted commercial success. It ran into the houses packed in the first four days and then exited, ”says Anant Nag.

The actor detects the word ‘ahead of his time’, often used to indicate the reason behind the disappointing performance of two films. ,Accident, Like Minchina Ota, Many awards were received, but did not get very good money. Of course, I cannot blame the audience completely. People had a habit of watching a hero-heroin track, comedy, dance and songs. Accident There was a unique thriller. People take time to accept something new. However, some dismissed the film, saying that it was “ahead of its time”. Many people said that he had not even seen the film. ,

Also read:Vasant Mokashi, screenwriter of Shankar Nag’s classic ‘accident’, none other

It did not take long for Anant Nag to realize that commercial cinema has great money. He smoothly made a transition to the mainstream films of the economous films, which were holding his subtlety on the screen. After decades of being a trusted lead actor in comedy (Ganesh Series), Relationships (Bayalu Dari, Chandanada Gombay), And family plays (Belladingla Bell), Anant Nag began to use as a character artist. Yograj Bhat’s films in the late 2000s (Mungaru Purush, Galipata, And Panchrangi) Strongly established him as a solid supporting actor.

“Yograj Bhat will present his script, and he had a lot of scope to perform. He always had something to express the audience. ,

Anant Nag is a favorite of the new generation Kannada filmmakers such as Hemanth M. Rao and Rishab Shetty. While Hemanth offered him complex roles Godhi Banna Sadarna Maikattu (2014) And Kavaludari (2019), Rishab used in his acting Circle Hiriya Pratamika Shale (2018).

“These filmmakers helped me break the monotony. Hemanth does not have the background of theater, but he is a thinker. He has seen many Western films. He has sharp and vested stories. Rishab is from theater, and he is from coastal Karnataka. His attitude towards cinema is affected Bayalata (Folk dance) and Yakshagana, which he saw regularly in childhood, “he describes.

As he craves for more emotional roles, the 76 -year -old Kannada wishes to see a change in the industry. “I wish, the industry would have had a greater quality screenwriter. We also need more talented playwrights, ”he says.