Bengaluru: With his trademark satire which had the audience in spilts, Master Hirannaiah poked fun at corrupt politicians, babus and those in uniform in short plays, movies and soaps on television during a career which spanned more than five decades. Hirannaiah Narasimha Murthy, 85, popularly known as ‘Master Hirannaiah’, who passed away in Bengaluru on Thursday, was admired for his wit and ability to articulate - without a script - during his popular plays Lanchavatara, Brashtachara or Makmal Topi;
the first one was staged more than 10,000 times in the country and abroad for over 40 years. He acted in more than 30 Kannada movies after his debut in a flick titled "Vani" directed by his late father K. Hirannaiah, and popular soaps such as "Yettangadi Yenkatappa" and "Punyakoti", the second crossing the 1000-mark in terms of number of episodes.
He was last seen in Kannada flick "…Re" , a comedy directed by Sunil Kumar Desai. His plays also focused on social evils such as casteism, payment of dowry and sati.
