Anant Nag

Anant Nagarkatte (born 4 September 1948), better known as Anant Nag, is an Indian actor whose predominant contribution has been in Kannada cinema.[1] He has acted in over 300 titles which includes over 200 Kannada films and Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi films.[2][3] He has featured in theatre plays, parallel cinema[3] and television shows.[4] He is considered to be a versatile artist in Kannada cinema.[1][5][6]

Not to be confused with Anantnag, a city in Jammu and Kashmir.

Anant Nag
Nag in 2017
Born (1948-09-04) 4 September 1948
Shirali, Mysuru State, Dominion of India (present-day Karnataka, India)
OccupationActor
Years active1973–present
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 1987)​
FamilyShankar Nag (brother)
Arundathi Nag (sister-in-law)

Nag made his feature film debut through Sankalpa (1973). His foray into parallel cinema was through Shyam Benegal's Ankur (1974).[7][8] His commercially successful Kannada movies have been Naa Ninna Bidalaare (1979), Chandanada Gombe (1979), Benkiya Bale (1983), Hendthige Helbedi (1989), Ganeshana Maduve (1990), Gowri Ganesha (1991), Mungaru Maley (2006) and Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu (2016).[3]

He acted in Malgudi Days, a Doordarshan aired[9] television series based on the stories of R. K. Narayan. He is a recipient of six Filmfare Awards South and five Karnataka State Film Awards. He is the elder brother of acclaimed director and actor Shankar Nag.

Early life

Anant Nag was born in a Konkani-speaking family on 4 September 1948 to Anandi and Sadanand Nagarkatte in the Chowpatty suburb of Mumbai.[10] He has an elder sister, Shyamala and his younger brother was Shankar Nag.[11]

Nag did his early schooling in a catholic school in Ajjarkad, Udupi, Ananda Ashrama in Dakshina Kannada and Chitrapur Math in Uttara Kannada districts of the erstwhile Mysore state (now Karnataka).[12] In class 9th standard, he was sent to Mumbai for further study.[10] He attempted to join the armed services but was rejected by the Army for being underweight and by the Air Force for poor eyesight.[13] He was drawn towards the theatre movement of Mumbai and he was selected to act in Konkani, Kannada and Marathi-language plays which he did until he turned 22.[2]

Career

Theatre

He began his career with Konkani plays. He went on to work in plays of Satyadev Dubey, Girish Karnad and Amol Palekar.[14][15] For a period of about five years, he acted in Konkani, Kannada, Marathi and Hindi plays.[3]

Film and Television

Following a theatre career in Mumbai, Nag made his film debut with Sankalpa, a 1973 Kannada film. Nag then grew to become a core part of parallel cinema, which was at its peak in the 1970s and '80s.[3] Being introduced to director Shyam Benegal by theatre director Satyadev Dubey,[3] he starred in six of Benegal's films: Ankur(1974), Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976), Bhumika (1978), Kondura (1978) and Kalyug (1981).

His arrival into Kannada movies was through G. V. Iyer's Hamsageethe (1975). Anant Nag plays the role of a disciple of carnatic singing. The film went on to win the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada.[16]

Anant Nag acted in 13 episodes of the television series, Malgudi days which were based on the stories by R. K. Narayan and directed by his brother Shankar Nag.[17]

His portrayal of an Alzheimer's patient in Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu (2016) has received critical acclaim and contributed to making this experimental movie, a commercial success.[18][19][20]

Personal life

Nag married Gayatri on 9 April 1987.[10] They have a daughter, Aditi.

Political career

He was an MLC, MLA and a minister in J. H. Patel government.[13] In 2004, he unsuccessfully contested the Chamarajpet constituency, Bangalore assembly election from Janata Dal (Secular). He was pitched against then Chief minister of Karnataka, S. M. Krishna from Indian National Congress and fellow actor Mukhyamantri Chandru from Bharatiya Janata Party.[21]

Filmography
Main article: Anant Nag filmography

Awards
Karnataka State Film Awards
YearAward typeFilmRef(s)
1979–80Best ActorMinchina Ota
1985–86Best ActorHosa Neeru
1987-88Best ActorAvasthe
1994–95Best ActorGangavva Gangamayi
2011–12Dr. Vishnuvardhan AwardLifetime Achievement

[22]

Filmfare Awards South
YearAward typeFilmResult
1977Best ActorPrema LekhaluNominated
1979Best ActorNaa Ninna BidalaareWon
1982Best ActorBaraWon
1989Best ActorHendthighelbediWon
1990Best ActorUdbhavaWon
1991Best ActorGauri Ganesha[23]Won
2016Best ActorGodhi Banna Sadharana MykattuWon
2008Best Supporting ActorTajmahalNominated
2008Best Supporting ActorAramaneNominated
2015Best Supporting ActorVaastu PrakaaraNominated

References
  1. "Versatile Veteran". Deccan Herald. 10 March 2012.
  2. "Films were bolder in the past". Frontline. October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  3. "'An actor should be like water, ego-less':An interview with Kannada icon Anant Nag". Scroll. 8 October 2017.
  4. "Anant Nag returns to small screen". The Hindu. 10 July 2013.
  5. "A brilliant 'NAG'otiator". Deccan Chronicle. 7 September 2016.
  6. "An ode to the supporting actor". Deccan Herald. 17 April 2020.
  7. "Ankur (1974)". The Hindu. 23 September 2012.
  8. "HT Brunch Cover Story: Over the top and on point with Shyam Benegal". Hindustan Times. 11 October 2019.
  9. "Malgudi Days to Karamchand – the Doordarshan classics that deserve a lockdown comeback". The Print. 25 April 2020.
  10. "About real life and reel lives". The Times of India. October 2010. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  11. "A stroll down memory lane". Deccan Herald. 30 November 2015.
  12. "I used to spin charakha daily for an hour at Ananda Ashram: Anant Nag". Star of Mysore. 15 February 2020.
  13. "Anant Nag: Being a politician is tougher than acting a politician". Deccan Chronicle. 4 March 2020.
  14. "I was influenced by English cinema and absurd plays: Anant Nag". The Hindu. 3 March 2020.
  15. "I am an untrained actor". The Hindu. 7 June 2016.
  16. "23rd National Film Awards" (PDF). iffi.nic.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
  17. "How Shankar Nag's Malgudi Days came to life". Deccan Herald. 10 May 2020.
  18. "Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu: Out to steal your heart". The Hindu. 3 June 2016.
  19. "Movie Review: Godhi Banna Sadharana Maikattu". Filmfare. 6 June 2016.
  20. "Four Kannada experiments run to packed houses". The Hindu. 8 June 2016.
  21. "Chamrajpet Election and Results 2018, Candidate list, Winner, Runner-up, Current MLA and Previous MLAs". Elections in India.
  22. "Karnataka State Film Awards 2010–11 winners". The Times of India. 14 March 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  23. "39th Annual Filmfare Kannada Best Actor Actress : santosh : Free Down…". archive.org. 8 February 2017. Archived from the original on 8 February 2017.
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