C. R. Simha

Channapatna Ramaswami Simha, the Kannada actor, director, dramatist and playwright, was born on 16th of June in 1942 in Karnataka to a Brahmin family in Karnataka. At the tender age of 12, Simha took to the stage as a member of the Histronics Club of National College situated at Basavanagudi, which is in Bangalore. He performed in Kannada plays such as "Manavemba Markata", "Bahaddur Ganda".

Interestingly, he authored a book titled ‘Family Doctor’ at the shocking age of thirteen. In 1972, he consolidated a theatre group that went by the name of ‘Nataranga’ and proceeded towards the direction of plays such as Kakana Kote and Tughlaq among others. His next project was adaptations of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dreams and Othello, which were not only showcased in Karnataka but also in Delhi, Bombay, Chennai and Kolkata.

Further, Simha went on to join a group called ‘Bangalore Little Theatre’ (BLT). His enactment of Cyrana-De-Bergera was highly acknowledged, and so was his one-man show titled ‘Typical Kailasam’ which was a production of his other theatre troupe called ‘Vedhike’. This one-man show was a beginner's Kannada play and became the first of its kind to be showcased abroad. Besides theatre, Simha also made his mark in the film and television industry.

He has been casted in about 150 Kannada films including some award winning ones such as ‘Samskara’, ‘Bara’, ‘Chithegoo Chinte’ and ‘Anuroopa’ (critics awardees) and ‘Indina Ramayana’, ‘Nee Bareda Kadambari’, ‘Parameshi Prema Prasanga’, ‘Rayaru Bandaru Mavana Manege’, ‘Nee Thanda Kanike’ (commercial awardees).

Moreover, he has directed five films- ‘Kakana Kote’, ‘Shikaari’, ‘Simhasana’, ‘Ashwamedha’ and ‘Angayalli Apsar’. As far as the television industry is concerned, his best works include the world famous opera - Malgudi Days and 'Goruru' which was centered on a travelogue and was shot abroad. Last but not the least, Simha has penned down five Kannada plays and worked as a columnist of a popular daily for six long years. Simha died of prostate cancer on 28th February 2014 at 72.