Kannada actor, director & producer Dwarakish passes on; he was aged 81

Veteran Kannada actor, director and producer Dwarakish known as ‘Charlie Chaplin’ and the first showman of the Kannada film industry passed away on Tuesday at his residence in Bengaluru.

Dwarakish (81) was suffering from old-age-related ailments. Family sources said that he woke up in the morning and had coffee. After having coffee he went to sleep again and never woke up. It is suspected that he suffered a heart attack.

Dwarakish hailed from Mysuru city. He started his career with small roles and established himself as a comedian. His first movie was ‘Veera Sankalpa’. He went on to become a co-producer and soon established his production company and delivered big hits such as ‘Mayor Muthanna’ and others.

Dwarakish also delivered hits as a director. ‘Nee bareda kadambari’, ‘Dance Raja Dance’, ‘Shruthi’, ‘Rayaru Bandaru Mavana Manege’ and others.

He was fondly addressed as ‘Kulla’ (shorty) and known for his risk-taking nature. Dwarakish was the first producer to bring legendary singer Kishore Kumar to the Kannada film industry. He turned his great disadvantage of being short stature into a trump card.

He produced the first Kannada movie ‘Singaporenalli Rajakulla’ to be shot outside India. ‘Africaldalli Sheela’, shot in forest ranges in Africa, was released in other languages. He produced the Hindi movie ‘Gangva’ starring superstar Rajnikanth and Shabana Azmi.

When everyone wrote him off, Dwarakish came back with ‘Apthamitra’ movie which created history in terms of collections.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressing his condolences stated: “I am saddened by the death of Dwarakish. The Kannada film industry has suffered a setback by his death.”