Mimicry Dayanand

Dayanand is a Mimicry artist, impressionist, Kannada actor and stand-up comedian. He is famous for his mimicking of politicians and Kannada actors. He is a household name in Karnataka. He is the ‘Johnny Lever of Karnataka’. He was interested in imitating actors’ voices since childhood. The voice of Dr.Rajkumar is his favourite. His parents opposed this and wanted him to focus on education. He started his career from performing at orchestras and associating with the troupes. He rose to fame with Mohan S Jimpets troupe. He did over 500 stage shows. He featured in many comedy albums. One of those named ‘Haasya Apaharana’ has the plot of Dr.Rajkumar being kidnapped by Veerappan. He did a show aired on ETV Kannada called ‘Kachaguli’. He also judged a reality show ‘Haasyada Rasa’ on Kasturi Channel, which aimed to unleash the comedy talent in people. He acted in more than 60 films. But he gained name with the movie ‘Shhh!’ (1993). He played the role of Dayananda Swamiji. In ‘Operation Antha’ (1995), the sequel to ‘Antha’ (1981), he essayed the role of K.D.S.Naidu.

His other films include Ekadanta (2007), Nandeesha (2012), Navarangi (2014), and Uppi 2 (2015). In ‘ Colours in Bangalore Click to look into! >> Read More... ’ (2013), he played the role of a director. His latest, ‘ Ishtakamya Click to look into! >> Read More... ’ is in filming stage. In an interview, when asked about his memorable experiences, he said, “I have two unforgettable memories. The first was at Hassan. The occasion was the presentation of Karnataka State Film Awards. I had enacted Dr.Rajkumar before he gave the speech. Then he said, ‘Dayanand already said whatever I wanted to tell you all now!’ The second one was at Basavanagudi National College. A man warned me that I shouldn’t imitate Dr.Rajkumar. I was frightened. So I made impressions of everyone except that of him. Also, I have told about that person. Then, Dr.Rajkumar called him and said, ‘Art is no one’s property. Nobody should object hereafter’.”