From sombre to comic, the infinite range of Anant Nag

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Moments after Anant Nag’s name was announced for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the veteran actor responded to a question about the momentous occasion with his trademark wit. In a delightfully matter-of-fact response to reporters, Anant Nag said he “felt normal, was breathing, was alive”, and, as far as he could tell, “nothing else was happening inside his head.”

Perhaps, he had been somewhat prepared, after receiving the Padma Bhushan. Experiencing that excitement and anticipation had prepared him for another major honour.

Actor Anant Nag at an interation programme organised by Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy in 2011.

Fittingly, Anant Nag is the second actor after Dr. Rajkumar to win the country’s highest award in Kannada cinema. The thespian was among the artists who inspired Anant Nag in his early years. Anant Nag has described the legendary actor as his “ mundina doni ” — the boat that went before him — paving the way for aspiring actors like him. If Anant Nag was in a pond, he once said, Dr. Rajkumar was already in the sea.

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Before establishing himself as a dependable actor in mainstream Kannada film, his acting was shaped by socially-conscious Hindi movies of Shyam Benegal and M.S. Sathyu ( Bara ). Benegal, who cast Anant Nag in Ankur, Nishanth, and Manthan , was impressed by his ability to express complex emotions with realistic elegance.

Anant Nag, with an experience of over 50 years, is a self-aware actor. After his early stint with theatre, during which he performed in more than 50 plays across different languages, he made a smooth transition to cinema. In an exclusive interview with The Hindu, the veteran had said that mainstream filmmakers called his subtle portrayal “Bengali style of acting.” Despite these comments, he remained steadfast in his approach. This conviction helped him move effortlessly across roles.

“From Hamsageethe to the Ganesha series, Anant sir’s range is impeccable,” says director Duniya Suri, who worked with the actor in the noir crime drama Kadipuddi’

“Popular author Yendamoori Veerendranath had challenged that one of his stories, Venello Adapilla , would be impossible to adapt to cinema. But Sunil Kumar Desai adapted it into a classic film Beladingala Baale (1995). It was Anant sir’s acting that made the adaptation look seamless,” Suri says.

Wide reading, impeccable pronunciation, and deep respect for the language made Anant Nag more than just an accomplished Kannada actor. “I see him as an ambassador of the Kannada language,” says Yogaraj Bhat, who worked with the actor in the iconic Mungaru Male (2006).

As he grew popular, Anant Nag’s strong dialogue delivery became one of the hallmarks of his acting.