M. P. Shankar

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

M. P. Shankar
Born	20 August 1935.[1] Mysore, Kingdom of Mysore, British India
Died	17 July 2008 (aged 72)[2] Mysore, Karnataka [3]
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Actor, film director, producer, screenwriter
Spouse(s)	Manjula
Children	3

He produced the film Gandhada Gudi starring Rajkumar. He died on 17 July 2008 in Mysore.[4]

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.[1]

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.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1962	Ratnamanjari		Debut film
1965	Satya Harishchandra	Veera Bahu
1967	Parvathi Kalyana	Tarakasura
1967	Gange Gowri	shani deva
1968	Mannina Maga
1969	Mayor Muthanna
1971	Nyayave Devaru
1972	Naagarahaavu		Pailwaan (wrestler) who trains Ramachari in his 'garadi mane'
1973	Gandhada Gudi		Producer ,Actor
1974	Bhootayyana Maga Ayyu	Bhootayya
1975	Mayura	Rangajetti
1978	Kiladi Jodi
1980	Narada Vijaya	Gurupada ("Maamsa parvata")
1984	Nane Raja
1989	Avane Nanna Ganda	Appaji
	Kaadina Rahasya [5]		Producer
1991	Gandu Sidigundu
1991	Halli Rambhe Belli Bombe		Producer, actor
	Kaadina Raja		Producer
	Mrugalaya [5]		Producer
	Onde Guri		Producer
	Vijaya Khadga		Producer
	Kempu Soorya		Producer
	Srimaan		Producer
1994	Gandhada Gudi Part 2

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.[1]

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