BENGALURU: Renowned actor and filmmaker Chandrashekar, known for his popular film 'Edakallu Guddada Mele,’ is no more. Chandrashekar, 63, passed away in Canada’s capital Ottawa in the early hours of Saturday, his family members said.
Survived by his daughter Tanya and wife Sheela, Chandrashekar had made a mark for himself in the film industry, starting as a child artiste and then attaining popularity with Puttanna Kanagal’s timeless classic 'Edakkallu Guddada Mele’.
The actor, who had over 70 films to his credit, had moved to Canada after his marriage. He returned in 2004 to direct the film, 'Poorvapara’ , starring Geetha in the lead which is based on the work of Kannada writer M.K. Indira.
Born and brought up in Bengaluru, Chandrashekar made his acting debut as a child artiste while he was in the tenth standard in the 1969 film 'Namma Makkalu’. He also played a role in the film ‘Vamshavruksha’, starring alongside his friend and a senior at National College, Vishnuvardhan. His big break came in 1973 with 'Edakallu Guddada Mele’. Later he acted with most of the leading actors of the industry, including Dr Rajkumar in 'Raja Nanna Raja’, before moving to Canada. He worked as a visa officer at the Indian High Commission in Ottawa and then started making corporate films in Canada. Eventually, telefilms led him back to movies before he ventured into his dream project 'Poorvapara’, which was the first Kannada film to be screened at the Toronto Film Festival and other film fests across the world. Over the last few years, he was juggling between Canada and India, playing supporting roles in Kannada films. He was last seen on the big screen in ‘3 Ghante 30 Dina 3 Second’ and in ‘Raju Kannada Medium’. is daughter Tanya said that Chandrashekar left for Canada just 10 days ago and she spoke to him on Friday night (India time) as he was being admitted to a hospital for chest pain. But he suffered a cardiac arrest a few hours later and passed away.
At the time of going to the press, it was not clear whether his mortal remains would be brought to India or the last rites would be performed in Canada.
The man who sang into people’s hearts with a happy note ‘Santosha oho ohoo...’ from 'Edakkallu Guddada Mele’ will be sadly missed by all his fans and the Kannada film industry.
