Veteran Kannada actor Anant Nag, who has been named the recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award 2024 for his contribution to Indian cinema, recalled his younger brother, Shankar Nag, who directed the hit television series Malgudi Days in the 1990s, during a conversation with news agency IANS. Anant Nag, who had portrayed various characters in the series, owes his Hindi fame to the series.
"In Hindi, Malgudi Days is different. My younger brother Shankar (Nag) took all the trouble and directed Malgudi Days. He was six years younger to me. He died 36 years ago in a car accident," he told IANS.
Anant Nag also said he worked in 30–35 art films before taking up commercial films.
"I came from the new wave of Kannada films. These were a different kind of films. People like Shyam Benegal worked with a different purpose. But such films were particularly made in Karnataka. They are called art films. My first 30–35 films were art films. Then I started accepting offers from commercial films because that made more money. I never regretted it. Whenever I got an opportunity, I kept doing art films. I did films in neighbouring languages—Telugu, Malayalam—and one film with Amol Palekar in Marathi. I did 75 films in Kannada," said Anant Nag.
Recalling the role of his gurus and the support he received from journalists during his five-decade journey in Karnataka, he said, "I remember all my gurus on the stage. When I came into films, I remembered all of them. When I decided that new-wave films and different kinds of films were being made in greater numbers in Karnataka, I decided to shift to Karnataka."
Recalling his early days after moving to Karnataka, the veteran Kannada actor said journalist friends played an important role in supporting and guiding him through his career.
"At that time, the people who stood by me and particularly helped me along were people from journalism and my journalist friends," he added.
He said that his circle of friends in Bengaluru largely consisted of people from the press as he had neither completed his schooling nor his college education in the city.
"My friend circle was only the press, and then there were TV channels and people from the TV world. I was never a member of any club, but I was a regular at the Press Club, thanks to the journalists of our region," he added.
Anant Nag has acted in more than 300 films during his career. Born in Shirali, Bhatkal, in 1948, his childhood name was Anant Nagarkatte. He moved to Mumbai before turning 16 and continued his education there.
He initially aspired to join the armed forces, particularly the Indian Air Force, but his dream could not be fulfilled. He later entered theatre during the modern theatre movement in Mumbai and Maharashtra and worked with several prominent artistes, including Amol Palekar.
Nag went on to work across Kannada, Hindi, Konkani, Marathi and Telugu cinema. He emerged as a prominent actor of the new-wave cinema movement and worked with filmmakers and artistes including Shyam Benegal, Amol Palekar and Shabana Azmi. His first Hindi film, Ankur, received three National Film Awards. Even after decades in the industry, Anant Nag continues to remain active and listens to new film stories regularly.
He has also worked as a producer and entrepreneur and entered politics, serving as an MLC and Bengaluru Development Minister.
Also Read | Veteran Actor Anant Nag To Receive Dadasaheb Phalke Award On September 22
