Kalyan Kumar

Kalyan Kumar was born as Chokkanna in a Tamil speaking Iyengar family on 7 June 1928 in Bangalore, in the erstwhile Princely State of Mysore of British India. His parents wanted him to be a doctor. But passion for acting brought him to Kannada film land. Born as Chokkanna into a middle-class family, Kalyan Kumar became known for his lavishness and sophistication.

Known for sophisticated portrayal of roles he played the hero against J. Jayalalitha in Maavana Magalu in 1965 and Badukuva Daari in 1966. The triumvirate had acted in Bhoodaana which was a hit in 1962. He had also acted in first full-length colour film in Kannada Amarashilpi Jakanachari, in which he played the role of Jakanachari, a historical figure in sculpture.

Kalyan Kumar's debut film as an actor, Natashekhara, released in 1954. He would go on to appear in successful films such as Sadarame, Subbashastri, Rayara Sose, Badukuva Daari, Mavana Mgalu, Arishina Kunkuma, Bedi Bandavalu, Belli Moda, Kathaa Sangama, and Kaleju Ranga. In G. V. Iyer's 1962 film, Bhoodaana, Kumar appeared alongside Rajkumar and Udayakumar, the only film that featured the trio together.[1] He acted with all the prominent heroines of his time - B Saroja Devi, Sahukar Janaki, Kalpana, Jayanti, Bharati, Aarathi, and Roopadevi.

He acted in several Kannada-Telugu bi-lingual films made in the 1960s by B Vittalacharya, Nagendra Rao and B R Panthulu. He was a regular actor in the early G V Iyer films like Bhoodana, Tayi karalu, Lawyer magalu and Bangari.

He acted in many Tamil films. His Tamil film Nenjil Oru Alayam was later made in Hindi as Dil Ek Mandir with Rajendra Kumar. As he was gaining popularity in Tamil filmdom, he started acting in more of Tamil movies. But, the regional politics reigned over his acting talents.

He was married to Kannada film heroine Revati. He also produced and directed stage plays like Ramu Nanna Thamma and Chikamma, many of which were written by his wife. His son Bharath Kalyan is a television actor who acted mainly in Tamil serials. Bharath Kalyan has recently rendered his voice for a character artist in the movie Imaikkaa Nodigal

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