Veteran actor Anant Nag, known for his impressive work in Hindi and Kannada cinema in classics such as Minchina Ota, Hamsageethe, Ankur and Manthan, will be honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024, the government announced on Wednesday.
With a filmography of more than 250 films in five decades across multiple languages, the 78-year-old is also a renowned name in the theatre world. He will be given the award, the highest recognition in Indian cinema, at the National Film Awards ceremony in Kevadia, Gujarat, on September 22. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the veteran actor and said, “For several decades, his effortless performances, remarkable versatility and brilliance have left a very strong mark on Indian cinema, particularly Kannada cinema. In whichever role he has played, he brought rare depth and authenticity.” In a post on ‘X’, he termed the award a “richly deserved honour for a truly distinguished artist”.
Last year, the recipient of the award was Malayalam cinema star Mohanlal.
Nag, a high profile actor who also dabbled in politics and served as a minister in Karnataka, grew up in a religious family in Bhatkal in coastal Karnataka. He was sent to Mumbai for higher education. His early influences of growing up in a math shaped his interest in stories. While in Mumbai, Nag felt like a fish out of water but gradually became drawn to the theatre movement there. He started doing plays in Konkani, Hindi and Marathi for five years. There he met and was influenced by people like Satyadev Dubey, Girish Karnad and Amol Palekar.
Nag made his cinema debut with 1973 Kannada movie Sankalpa and gradually became an integral part of the parallel cinema there in the 1970s and 1980s. He was a part of popular Doordashan serial Malgudi Days, the TV adaptation of R K Narayan’s popular work that was directed by Nag’s filmmaker brother, Shankar Nag.
Dubey introduced him to Shyam Benegal and then began a collaboration through six films, each one a classic. It began with the Ankur, also Nag’s first Hindi film, and Nishant, Manthan, Bhumika, Kondura and Kalyug followed. He is equally successful in the commercial Kannada cinema.
Nag’s portrayal as a disciple of Carnatic music in G B Iyer’s Hamsageethe in 1975 won him the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada.
The actor, a multi-faceted personality who is equally good as a singer and tabla player, became known for his natural acting at a time when stars actively cultivated certain mannerisms.
His major hits in Kannada include Bayalu Daari, Na Ninna Bidalare, Chandanada Gombe, Aruna Raaga, Mududida Taavare Aralithu, Breaking News and Dashamukha, Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu and KGF.
Nag, who was minister in Karnataka’s J H Patel government, has spoken about being influenced by JP movement at its peak. In 2004, Nag unsuccessfully contested the Chamarajpet constituency, Bangalore assembly election from Janata Dal (Secular). Nag also introduced his brother Shankar Nag to cinema. Shankar acted, wrote, directed and produced many of the actor’s films until his death in a car crash in 1990 at the age of 35.
Last year, Nag was honoured with the Padma Bhushan.
First introduced in 1969, the awards are named after Dadasaheb Phalke, who is regarded as the father of Indian cinema with his 1913 movie Raja Harishchandra.
Malayalam cinema star Mohanlal was the recipient last year.
