Quiet exit
DIWAKAR NARAYAN RAO
|
Renukamma Muragod, who passed away recently, was easily among the finest actors of Kannada stage
|
Photo: Chitraloka.com
FINE ACTOR Renukamma was associated with Kannada drama for five decades
On July 6, 2008, Karnataka lost an acting genius and one of the senior-most drama artists of the State, Renukamma Muragodu. It’s strange how many stars fade away unnoticed and die a silent death, far away from the public eye. Renukamma was one such.
Popularly known as “Mudala Mane ajji” for her sterling performance in the TV serial “Mudala Mane”, Renukamma is personification of an actress and a born actor to say the least. Born in the year 1933 in Muragodu village of Savadatti taluk, Belgaum district, Renukamma started her acting career at the age of 13; she performed in the presence of Mahatma Gandhi.
Young Renukamma joined the drama troupe of the legendary Halageri Jettappa as a child artist and performed various roles under the banner Halu Siddeshwara Sangeeta Nataka Mandali. She later joined Sangameshwara Naatya Sangha of Gudigeri Basavaraj and continued to stay with the drama company for more than 15 years. She has performed with hundreds of drama companies in a career of more than five decades. Renukamma has performed in thousands of dramas, but never ventured into the films. In 1962 when she went to Mumbai to act in a Marathi film, she got several offers from Hindi too. But Renukamma was more interested in stage. She played a wide variety of roles: from child, to heroine, to vamp, to old woman and people still remember her roles in NorthKarnataka. But with the decline of professional drama companiesRenukamma and her ilk had no option but to look towards the silver screen. Her major break came in 1994 when filmmaker Girish Kasaravalli, cast her Krourya”. She acted in “Thayi Saheba”, a national award winning film, “Nammoora Mandara Hoove”, “Veerappa Naika”, “Chandra Chakori”, and “Shabdavedi” with Dr. Rajkumar.
But her real talent was exploited in tv serials like “Moodala Mane”, directed by Vaishali Kasaravalli, which had a story line construed around life in NorthKarnataka.
Her role as Radhakka – an old woman helplessly watching the disintegration of family and its values – earned accolades across the State. She was loved for her humility and simplicity and looked upon with reverence for the urge to learn things even at the age of 70. Though a school dropout , Renukamma used to read the script on her own and was known for her stubborn and frank nature.
It’s a pity that Renukamma, who was easily on par with a Durga Kote or Leela Mishra of Hindi films, was ignored by the Bangalore-centric Kannada film industry.
Theatre has lost its brightest star in the demise of Renukamma Muragodu.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
