Kemparaj Urs

D. Kemaparaj Urs (05 February, 1917 - 18 May, 1982), known as simply Kemparaj Urs, was an Indian freedom fighter, actor, director and producer who worked mainy in Kannada film industry.[2] His movies in 1940s and 1950s created an impact on the audience. Even before Dr. Rajkumar's arrival to the industry, Urs was already an established star. His elder brother D. Devaraj Urs, served as the Chief Minister of Karnataka.

Kemparaj Urs
Born
D. Kemparaj Urs

(1917-02-05)5 February 1917[1]
Kallahalli, Hunsur Taluk, Mysore State, British India (present-day Karnataka, India)
Died18 May 1982(1982-05-18) (aged 65)
NationalityIndian
Occupation
  • Actor
  • producer
  • director
Years active1942–1964
Spouse(s)T. N. Lalitha
Children3
Parents
  • Devaraj Urs (father)
  • Devirammanni (mother)
FamilyD. Devaraj Urs (brother)

Personal life

Kemparaj Urs was born in Kallahalli, Hunsur taluk in Mysore to Devaraj Urs and Deveerammanni. His elder brother was D. Devaraj Urs. Kemparaj was an English literature student. He married to his classmate Lalitha and had three daughters. Urs aspired to be a doctor but inspired by Mahatma Gandhi and joined freedom struggle and jailed even.[3]

Career

Urs met deyon of Kannada theatre Gubbi Veeranna and started playing in theatre plays in Gubbi company. In 1942, as an independent producer, Gubbi Veeranna made his first film Jeevana Nataka under his own banner Gubbi Films, casting Kemparaj Urs as the male lead opposite to Shanta Hublikar and M. V. Rajamma.[4] Then in 1947, he played the role Kamsa in the film Krishnaleela which was a hit. His biggest success was Raja Vikrama in 1951 which completed 25 weeks in single theatre.[5] He produced and directed a number of movies in Kannada, Tamil and Telugu. Urs also chaired the "Karnataka Film Development Board".

Autobiography

Kemparaj Urs has written an autobiography, "Aravattu Varshagalu"(Eng: Sixty years), published in 1979.[6]

Death

Kemparaj Urs died on 18 May 1982, surviving his wife and daughters.[7]

Filmography
Year Title Credited as Language Role Notes
Director Producer Actor
1942 Jeevana Nataka NNY Kannada Mohan Debut film
1947 Mahananda NNY Kannada
1947 Krishnaleela NNY Kannada Kamsa
1948 Bhakta Ramadasa YNY Kannada Badh Shaw
1950 Shiva Parvati NNY Kannada
1951 Raja Vikrama YYY Kannada
Tamil		 Vikrama
1953 Srikrishna NNY Kannada
1954 Karkottai YYY Tamil
1954 Jaladurga YYY Kannada
1957 Nala Damayanti YYY Kannada
Telugu
Tamil
1959 Azhagarmalai Kalvan YYN Tamil
1964 Nava Jeevana NNY Kannada

References
  1. "Celebrity Kemparaj Urs". chiloka.com.
  2. "Kemparaj Urs birth anniversary". Digital Kannada.com. Feb 3, 2017.
  3. "Glorious body of work". The Hindu. Feb 8, 2017.
  4. "History 15 - Jeevana Nataka - Gubbi Veeranna Independent Producer". chitraloka.com. 13 August 2013. Archived from the original on 15 August 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  5. "Kannada film actor Kemparaj Urs". Udayavani.com. Aug 1, 2019.
  6. "Autobiography of Kemparaj Urs". mythicsociety.org.
  7. "ಕೆಂಪರಾಜ ಅರಸ್ ಸ್ಮರಣೆ". NanuGowri.com. May 18, 2020.

Kemparaj Urs at IMDb

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