Kavitha Lankesh

Last updated

Kavitha Lankesh
Ms Kavita Lankesh, (Director) addressing a press conference at Black Box, Kala Academy during the 37th International Film Festival (IFFI-2006) in Panaji, Goa on November 25, 2006.jpg
Lankesh at the IFFI (2006)
Born
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Education Bangalore University
Occupation Film director
Notable work Deveeri (1999)
Children1
Parent(s) P. Lankesh
Indira
Relatives Gauri Lankesh (sister)
Indrajit Lankesh (brother)
Website Official website

Kavitha Lankesh is an Indian film director, screenwriter and a lyricist known for her work in Kannada cinema industry. She began as a documentary film-maker before directing her first feature film, Deveeri (1999), which went on to win international, national and state awards. She is considered to be one of the renowned film-makers of Kannada cinema. [1] She has directed and produced more than fifty documentaries/informational films and more than forty corporate films. [2] Some of the films Kavitha directed have won awards and accolades from critics.

Contents

Early life and background

Kavitha was born in Bangalore to journalist P. Lankesh and Indira. Her mother runs a sari shop in Bangalore. Kavitha hails from a prominent family of journalists and media publishers. Her father P. Lankesh founded the highly successful weekly tabloid Lankesh Patrike . She has two siblings, Indrajit and Gauri. Her brother is also a film-maker and her sister, Gauri Lankesh, was the chief editor of the tabloid. [3] Kavitha holds a master's in English Literature from Bangalore University and a diploma in advertising. Before her film career, Kavitha owned an advertisement agency. [4] Kavitha decided to remain single. Instead, Kavitha is a single mother by choice to her daughter, Esha Lankesh. [5] She now lives in a suburb of Bangalore with her daughter and her two Labradors. [6]

Career

Kavitha started in films with a series of documentaries. She has made films about Bannerghatta National Park in Bangalore, the Siddi tribe, and Ninasam, a cultural organization that promotes the development of theater and films. [7] Kavithas first documentary was on a children's nature camp. She went to more than 50 documentaries and corporate films. Deveeri , a movie based on a short story by P. Lankesh, Akka, represented Kavitha's debut as a feature film director. The film stars Nandita Das, Bhavana, Master Manja, Kashi, B. Jayashree. [8] Deveeri won Kavitha Lankesh state, national and international awards, including the International Critics Award, National Debut Director Award, and the Aravindan Puraskaram for best debutante director in 2000. [2] Deveeri participated in eighteen international film festivals and won nine awards. Kavitha's second film was Alemaari. The film has Bhavana and Prakash Raj in the lead roles. [7] Kavitha wrote the story and screenplay and directed Bimba. The film has Raksha, Prakash Raj, Daisy Bopanna and Sampath Kumar in the lead roles. Bimba was selected to compete in the Bangkok film festival and received raving reviews from critics. [9] Kavitha wrote and directed Preethi Prema Pranaya , a drama film, in 2003. It won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada and the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Story and was a commercial hit running for 100 days in theaters across Karnataka. Malgudi Days was a Hindi television series originally directed by Shankar Nag, but was revived in 2006 with Kavitha as director. The reviews were positive. Kavitha also wrote and directed Tananam Tananam , a romantic musical drama in 2006. The story was based on a Tamil story written by Kalki. This film debuts Tamil actor, Shaam, with Ramya and Rakshita in the lead roles. Although the film had average to negative responses from critics, it won at Filmfare Awards South for Best Actress and Best Lyricist. Kavitha directed Avva , a Kannada drama film, in 2008. The film was based on a novel, Mussanjeya Katha Prasanga, written by her father. The film has Shruti, Duniya Vijay and Smitha in the lead roles. The film had many positive reviews from critics and won awards at the Karnataka State Film Awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Story writer. Kavitha also directed Crazy Loka in 2012. The stars of the film were V. Ravichandran and Daisy Bopanna. Crazy loka was commercially successful but a film that Kavitha is not proud of because of many ' uncontrolled factors'. Kavitha directed and produced a socially relevant film, Kariya Kan Bitta . The film stars Pradyumna a child artist who won the state award and also had Duniya Vijay, Yogesh, Srinagar Kitty, and Anu PrabhakarThe film won rave reviews across the state. [10] Kavitha Lankesh also runs a resort exclusively for children called Grameen Camp which introduces school children to various traditional village games and life styles as well educate them about farming.

Filmography

YearFilm TitleNotes
1999 Deveeri International award, a national award and two state awards
2001AlemaariUnreleased
2003 Preethi Prema Pranaya National award for Best regional film and Best story State award
2004 Bimba Best Screenplay award
2006 Malgudi Days Hindi Tele-films
2006 Tananam Tananam
2008 Avva State award Best supporting actress and Best Story
2012 Crazy Loka
2013Kariya Kan Bitta
2017Summer HolidaysChildren's English Film

[10] Kavitha Lankesh has also served as Jury for many festivals -International Film Festival of India, Kerala State Awards, Jagran Film Festival and the OSCAR film selection.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vasundhara Das</span> Indian actress and singer

Vasundhara Das is an Indian singer, musician and former actress. Vasundhara's acting career includes Hey Ram (Tamil/Hindi), Monsoon Wedding (English), Citizen (Tamil), Ravana Prabhu (Malayalam), Lankesh Patrike (Kannada) and several others. She won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer – Tamil for the song, "Shakalaka Baby" from the film Mudhalvan

<span class="mw-page-title-main">P. Lankesh</span> Indian film director

Palya Lankesh was an Indian poet, fiction writer, playwright, translator, screenplay writer and journalist who wrote in the Kannada language. He was also an award-winning film director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramya (actress)</span> Indian actress and politician (born 1982)

Divya Spandana, better known by her screen name Ramya, is an Indian actress, producer and politician. She served as the Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from Mandya, Karnataka. She primarily works in Kannada, and Tamil language films. Ramya was the recipient of two Filmfare Awards South, an Udaya Award, and a Karnataka State Film Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daisy Bopanna</span> Indian actress

Daisy Bopanna is an Indian actress who appears in Kannada, Hindi, Telugu and Tamil-language films.

<i>Lankesh Patrike</i> Indian newspaper

Lankesh Patrike is an Indian vernacular weekly published in Kannada language from Bangalore, Karnataka.

K. M. Chaitanya is a film director, documentary maker and theater person. His first feature film Aa dinagalu in Kannada, won several awards including the Filmfare Awards South for Best Director and Best Feature Film in 2007. Chaitanya also won awards for Best Debutant Director by the South Indian Cinematographers' Association, Chennai Film Fans Association and Raghavendra Chitravani Award. Aa Dinagalu was listed by The Week among the top 10 Indian films of 2007. Chaitanya studied Journalism at Christ College.

Deveeri is a 1999 Kannada language film based on the novel Akka by noted Kannada writer P. Lankesh. The novel was adapted for the film by his daughter Kavitha Lankesh.

<i>Crazy Loka</i> 2012 Indian film

Crazy Loka is a 2012 Kannada film starring V. Ravichandran and Daisy Bopanna. The film is directed by Kavita Lankesh and produced by Confident Group and Shanti Pictures. Manikanth Kadri is the music director for the film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indrajit Lankesh</span> Indian film director

Indrajit Lankesh is an Indian filmmaker, producer, and director of Kannada and Hindi films. He is also the publisher of the weekly Kannada tabloid Lankesh Patrike. He is the son of iconic writer, journalist and film maker P. Lankesh.

Preethi Prema Pranaya is a 2003 Indian Kannada-language drama film written and directed by Kavitha Lankesh. The film features an ensemble cast of Anant Nag, Bharathi Vishnuvardhan, Sudharani, Prakash Raj, Bhavana, Anu Prabhakar and Sunil Raoh. It was produced by "Indo - Hollywood" films, consisting of five producers, namely Mano Murthy, Ram Prasad, Dr. Renuka and Somashekar. The music was composed by Mano Murthy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bhavana (Kannada actress)</span> Indian actress

Nandini Ramanna, better known by her stage name Bhavana Ramanna, is an Indian actress who works predominantly in the Kannada film industry. A Bharatanatyam dancer, she has received three Karnataka State Film Awards and acted in Shanti, a film that entered the Guinness Book of Records. Bhavana Ramanna is the director of HomeTown Productions, a production house that conducts dance and music shows.

<i>Tananam Tananam</i> 2006 Indian film

Tananam Tananam is a 2006 Indian Kannada-language romantic musical film directed and written by Kavitha Lankesh. The film has Ramya and Rakshita teaming up together for the first time, and introduces Shaam, a Tamil actor, to Kannada cinema. The film was produced by N. M. Suresh and based on a Tamil short story written by Kalki.

Balaji Tangali Lalitha Naik is an Indian social activist, politician, writer, film actress who was the minister of Kannada, Culture, and Department of Women & Child Welfare of Karnataka. Naik has also served as an MLC (1986-1992) and MLA (1994-1999). She won the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award in 1991. She is also known for leading important literary, social and language-rights movements such as Bandaya movement and Gokak agitation.

Avva is a 2008 Indian Kannada language drama film directed by Kavitha Lankesh and produced by Pyramid Saimira. The film stars Shruti, Duniya Vijay and Smitha in the lead roles. The film released to positive critical reception and won multiple awards at the Karnataka State Film Awards for that year. The musical score was composed by Issac Thomas Kottukapalli.

Sara Aboobacker was an Indian Kannada writer of novels and short stories, and a translator.

<i>Tagaru</i> 2018 Indian-Kannada language action film

Tagaru (transl. Goat) is a 2018 Indian Kannada-language action crime film directed by Duniya Soori and produced by K. P. Srikanth. The film features Shiva Rajkumar, Bhavana and Manvitha Kamath, Dhananjaya, Vasishta N. Simha and Devaraj, while Shivakumara Swami, Jayanth Kaikini and Charan Raj makes a guest appearance. The soundtrack and background score were composed by Charan Raj, while the cinematography and editing were handled by Mahendra Simha and Deepu. S. Kumar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gauri Lankesh</span> Indian Kannada-language activist and journalist

Gauri Lankesh was an Indian activist and journalist from Bangalore, Karnataka. She worked as an editor in Lankesh Patrike, a Kannada weekly started by her father P. Lankesh, and ran her own weekly called Gauri Lankesh Patrike. She was murdered outside her home in Rajarajeshwari Nagar on 5 September 2017. At the time of her death, Gauri was known for being a critic of right-wing Hindu extremism. She was honoured with Anna Politkovskaya Award for speaking against right-wing Hindu extremism, campaigning for women's rights and opposing caste based discrimination.

<i>Pallavi</i> (1976 film) 1976 film directed by P. Lankesh

Pallavi (transl. Refrain) is a 1976 Indian Kannada-language drama film directed by novelist P. Lankesh, in his directorial debut. He also stars, alongside Vimala Naidu and T. N. Seetharam. The film is based on his own 1967 novella Biruku (transl. Crack), and focuses on two lovers whose relationship ends when the man fails in life while the woman succeeds.

<i>Lankesh Patrike</i> (film) 2003 Indian film

Lankesh Patrike is a 2003 Indian Kannada-language political thriller film directed by Indrajit Lankesh and starring Darshan and Vasundhara Das. Darshan played a journalist in the film and Vasundhara Das made her Kannada acting debut with this film. Despite releasing to positive critical reception, the film was a box office failure.

<i>Bimba</i> (film) 2004 Indian film

Bimba is a 2004 Indian Kannada-language children's drama film directed by Kavitha Lankesh and starring Baby Raksha, Daisy Bopanna, Prakash Raj and Sampath Kumar.

References

  1. ↑ "Archived copy". Sify . Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. 1 2 "Back after a break". The Hindu . 11 August 2003. Archived from the original on 17 January 2004. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  3. ↑ Lankesh Patrike
  4. ↑ "Encore!". The Hindu . 31 August 2004. Retrieved 23 December 2015.[ dead link ]
  5. ↑ "Solo riders". Theweek.in. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  6. ↑ "The Tribune - Windows - This Above All". Tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  7. 1 2 "Fighting the formula". The Hindu . 25 March 2002. Archived from the original on 17 August 2002. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  8. ↑ "Kavitha Lankesh movies list". Bharatmovies.com. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  9. ↑ "Kavitha Lankesh's Bimba to compete in Bangkok film festival". Viggy.com. 13 March 2011. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  10. 1 2 "Kavitha Lankesh Filmography, Kavitha Lankesh Movies, Kavitha Lankesh Films". Filmibeat. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.