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Bengaluru: Legendary Sandalwood actor-director-producer, Dwarakish on Tuesday (April 16, 2024) reportedly passed away due to prolonged illness. He was 81 years old. Dwarakish started his career in the Kannada film industry in 1964 with the movie Veera Sankalpa and has been involved in numerous films as an actor, comedian, and supporting actor. Dwarakish’s son informed the media that he died at his house in Electronic City. He was known as a talented Kannada actor.
Kannada actor Dwarakish was born on August 19, 1942. He received his early education at Sharda Vilas and Banumayya School. Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from CPC Polytechnic. After completing his education, his brother started an auto parts business. Bharat had opened a shop named Auto Spare in Mysore. He entered the film industry with the help of his father-in-law Hunsur Krishnamurthy.
Alongside the late actor Vishnuvardhan, he formed the well-known duo referred to as “Kalla-kulla”. They shared a strong friendship and collaborated in many of Dwarkeesh Vishnu’s movies. In 1966, Dwarakish co-produced the film Mamateya Bandhana with two others. Then, in 1969, he advanced to become an independent producer by investing in the movie Mayor Muttanna starring Dr. Rajkumar. Dwarakish made history as the first Kannada producer to introduce Kishore Kumar to the Kannada film industry. The song “Aadu Aata Aadu” from their collaboration soared to immense popularity. He produced the first Kannada film to be shot outside India.
“Apthamitra” made significant strides in Kannada cinema, setting records. It became the inaugural Kannada movie to mark a year-long screening at two theatres: Santosh in Bengaluru and Ranajith in Mysore. Additionally, it was the first Kannada film to achieve a full year of successful screening with four daily shows.
Subsequently, in 1969, he achieved his first independent production success with “Mayor Muthanna”, starring Dr. Rajkumar and Bharathi in the lead roles, which proved to be a box office hit. Thereafter, Dwarakish continued to lead the Kannada cinema industry with a string of box office successes for the next two decades.
