Veteran journalist and filmmaker NS Shankar passes away

Veteran journalist and filmmaker N.S. Shankar passed away at the age of 67. He is survived by his son Rahul.

In the Kannada film industry, Shankar is known for his directorial debut, Ulta Palta (1997), a successful comedy-drama.

Shankar, who was invited to a film launch in Kolar on June 27, reached his Bengaluru residence late in the night. He died in his sleep after suffering a heart attack, sources said.

In his stint with journalism, which lasted more than two decades, Shankar worked for prominent Kannada newspapers such as Prajavani and Lankesh Patrike. His journalism career began in 1979 with stints at City Times and Janavani daily newspapers. In 1981, Shankar joined Prajavani.

He was part of the founding teams of the daily newspaper Mungaru, led by the legendary Vaddarse Raghuram Shetty, and another weekly Suddi Sangaati, led by another Mungaru-hand Indhudhar Honnapura. Shankar also worked as a senior news editor at Lankesh Patrike till Lankesh breathed his last in 2000.

Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar condoled his death, saying, “N.S. Shankar analysed the realities of society with great sensitivity through his writings, and his death is an irreparable loss to both journalism and literature.”

Shankar’s shift to cinema was fuelled by the positive reception for his short film, Muttisikondavanu. Based on a short story by Lankesh, the movie deals with caste discrimination and exposes human hypocrisy. Shankar’s friends from the industry, including musician V. Manohar and cinematographer Ashok Kashyap, co-produced his directorial debut, which was inspired by Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors.

Ulta Palta, starring Ramesh Aravind and Sanketh Kashi, was a hit. The movie was remade in Tamil as Ambuttu Imbuttu Embuttu (2005). Editor Guna, associate director Vijayaprasad, actor Myna, and Subrahmanya Thememane were the other co-producers, making it a rare Kannada movie to be funded by technicians. Shankar won the Karnataka State Film Award in the Best Dialogues category. Kashi received a Special Jury Award in the Best Acting section.

K. Puttaswamy, writer and historian, calls Shankar a “socially responsible journalist”. “His reports and writings have helped the downtrodden. His writings stood firmly with the oppressed,” Mr. Puttaswamy, who worked with Shankar as a journalist, told The Hindu.

Shankar also directed serials for Doordarshan, with Baduku Jataka Bhandi and Kshamaya Dharitri being the notable ones.

He has authored several works, including Arasu Yuga, which delves into the political life of former Chief Minister D. Deveraj Urs, and a book on the Dalit movement in Karnataka.

Shankar was planning an anthology based on three stories: Lankesh’s Muttisikondavanu, Pratibha Nandakumar’s Arundathi, and P. Mahamud’s December 6. The movie was titled Eega.