Misplaced Pages

M. P. Shankar
Born	(1935-08-20)20 August 1935 Mysore, Kingdom of Mysore, British India
Died	17 July 2008(2008-07-17) (aged 72) Mysore, Karnataka
Nationality	Indian
Occupation(s)	Actor, film director, producer, screenwriter
Spouse	Manjula
Children	3

M. P. Shankar (20 August 1935 – 17 July 2008) was an Indian actor in Kannada cinema. He acted in films like Satya Harishchandra as 'Veera Baahu', Naagarahaavu as 'Pailwan Basanna', Bhootayyana Maga Ayyu as Bhootayya, Ratnamanjari etc.

He produced the film Gandhada Gudi starring Rajkumar in which Shankar also acted as forest dept. driver Johnny. He died on 17 July 2008 in Mysore.

Early life

Shankar was the third son of Puttalingappa and Gangamma. His father ran a handloom textile industry. Shankar had his primary and secondary education in Dalvoy School and higher secondary education in Banumaiah's High School. His family got into financial crisis due to losses at textile industry. He could not even appear for SSLC exams because of financial problems. He worked as a daily wager in the then Mysore Electricity Board.

Career

Shankar started his career as a foundry man in the railway workshop at Mysore in 1955 on a monthly wage of Rs. 80. This iron grinding work affected his body. Shankar, who practised wrestling, participated in the Dasara wrestling competition in 1956 and received title from the then Chief Minister B. D. Jatti. He dreamt of winning the "Sri Mysore" wrestling title. But the wrestling competition was suspended for three years from 1957, following the violence which broke out during the competition that year. His acting talent came to light when he played the role of Kadu Kuruba in the diamond jubilee celebration of Banumaiah's Institutions and received a prize from Sri Jayachamaraja Wadiyar.

He formed a drama troupe under the banner Bharani Kalavidaru and enacted plays such as Gadayuddha, Yechchama Nayaka, Yelahanka Bhoopala and Raja Gopichand throughout the State.

M. P. Shankar made his entry into films in 1962 as a villain in the film Ratnamanjari, directed by Hunsur Krishnamurthy and made a name for himself in the cine industry. He earned the distinction of acting in 108 films. Shankar acted as a villain in films such as Veera Sankalpa, Kadina Rahasya, Naari Munidare Maari, Gandhada Gudi, Rama Lakshmana and Bhootayyana Maga Ayyu .

Shankar started his own production unit in 1968 under the banner "Bharani Chitra". He began creating awareness about environment and wildlife through his films like Kaadina Rahasya, Gandhada Gudi, Rama Lakshmana, Mrugalaya.

Partial filmography

Death

He died on 17 July 2008 after a prolonged illness at his residence Manjunatha Nilaya in Vijayanagar in Mysore city. He is survived by his wife Manjula, son Tilak and daughter Shobha. The last rites were held with full state honours in Mysore on 18 July.

References

1. ^ "WebHost4Life - Web Hosting, Unix Hosting, E-Mail, Web Design". www.ourkarnataka.com. Archived from the original on 13 October 2011. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
2. "Archive News". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
3. Kannada film actor M.P. Shankar is dead Archived 2012-10-11 at the Wayback Machine
4. "M.P. Shankar Passes away". Archived from the original on 20 November 2008.
5. ^ "Kannada film actor M.P. Shankar is dead". Archived from the original on 18 April 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2012.

External links

• M. P. Shankar at IMDb

• 1935 births
• 2008 deaths
• Male actors in Kannada cinema
• Indian male film actors
• Male actors from Mysore
• Deaths from bone cancer
• 20th-century Indian male actors
• Kannada film producers
• Film producers from Karnataka
• Businesspeople from Mysore