Dorai–Bhagavan were an Indian filmmaking duo consisting of directors B. Dorai Raj (died 2000) and S. K. Bhagavan (born 1933), active mainly in

Kannada cinema Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. The 1934 film ''Sati Sulochana'' directed ...

. They directed fifty films, most of which starred Rajkumar and were highly successful at box-office. Twenty-three of those films were based on novels. Bhagavan has been principal of Adarsha Film Institute, Bangalore.

Film career

S.K Bhagavan was born on 5 July 1933. He completed his schooling in Bangalore High school. At a young age, he was acting on stage dramas with Hirannaiah Mithra Mandali. He started his film career as an assistant to Kanagal Prabhakar Shastri in 1956 through the film ''Bhagyodaya''. He then went on to direct his debut movie ''

Sandhya Raga Sandhya may refer to: Hinduism * Another name of Saranyu, goddess of clouds List of people with the given name Sandhya * B. Sandhya (born 1963), Inspector General of Kerala Police in India * Sandhya Agarwal (born 1963), former captain of the Ind ...

'' in 1966 though officially its direction was credited to A.C. Narasimha Murthy. However, next year, he was credited as the co-director of ''

Rajadurgada Rahasya ''Rajadurgada Rahasya'' is a 1967 Indian Kannada-language film, jointly directed by A. C. Narasimha Murthy and S.K.Bhagwan and produced by A. Vasudeva Rao and T. Dwarakanath. The film stars Rajkumar, Bharathi, Udaykumar, Narasimharaju and Din ...

'' (1967) alongside A.C. Narasimha Murthy. He also appeared in the role of the antagonist in the 1968 movie ''

Bangalore Mail ''Bangalore Mail'' is a 1968 Indian Kannada-language film directed by L. S. Narayana and produced by Y. V. Rao. The film stars Rajkumar, Narasimharaju and Jayanthi. The movie is a remake of the 1967 Malayalam movie '' Cochin Express'', whic ...

''. His official directorial debut happened when he co-directed ''

Jedara Bale ''Jedara Bale'' ( kn, ಜೇಡರ ಬಲೆ ) is a 1968 Kannada language spy thriller film directed by Dorai–Bhagavan starring Rajkumar, Jayanthi, K. S. Ashwath, Narasimharaju and Udayakumar. The music of the film was composed by G. K. Ve ...

'' (1968) with Dorai Raj under the name Dorai–Bhagavan. Thus becoming the first directors to make

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

-style movies in Kannada. The duo then directed movies like ''

Kasturi Nivasa ''Kasturi Nivasa'' () is a 1971 Indian Kannada-language drama film written and directed by the director duo Dorai–Bhagavan based on a story, ''Kasturi Nivasam'' written by G. Balasubramanium. It was produced by K. C. N. Gowda under the banne ...

'', '' Eradu Kanasu'', ''Bayaludaari'', ''Gaalimaatu'', ''Chandanada Gombe'', ''Hosa Belaku'', ''Benkiya Bale'', ''

Jeevana Chaitra ''Jeevana Chaitra'' () is a 1992 Indian Kannada language film directed by the duo Dorai–Bhagavan starring Rajkumar and Madhavi. It marked the re-entry of Rajkumar in films after a hiatus of 3 years, and was an instant hit. The film is based on ...

'' and more Bond-style movies such as ''Goa dalli C.I.D 999'', ''Operation Jackpot Nalli C.I.D 999'' and ''Operation Diamond Racket''. Apart from Rajkumar, the duo directed many movies with actors

Ananth Nag Dr Anant Nagarkatte (born 4 September 1948) is an Indian actor whose predominant contribution has been in Kannada cinema. He has acted in over 300 films which include over 200 Kannada films as well as Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam and Eng ...

and

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...

- most of which were based on novels After the death of Dorai Raj, Bhagavan ceased directing for many years – their last film was ''Mangalya Bhandana'' in 1993. In 2019, he made his comeback at the age of 85 with ''Aduva Gombe'', which marks 50th film of his direction.

Awards

Bhagavan has been the principal of Adarsha Film Institute.http://www.adarshafilminstitute.com/about_us.htm

Filmography

Dorai–Bhagavan have directed a number of films. Apart from directing movies, Bhagavan has also acted in some movies like Hosabelaku, Bhagyodaya, Mangalasootra, Rowdy Ranganna, Vasantha Geetha, Sootradhaara, Vasantha Geetha, Haalu Jenu, Jeevana Chaithra and Bangalore Mail. He has mostly worked with music director duo

Rajan–Nagendra Rajan–Nagendra were an Indian musical duo who were prominent composers of film music in Kannada and Telugu cinema from the late 1950s to the early 1990s. Rajan, along with his brother Nagendra, created a niche for themselves for nearly four de ...

and

G. K. Venkatesh Gurusala Krishnadas Venkatesh (21 September 1927 – 17 November 1993) was an Indian film score composer who primarily worked in Kannada cinema during the 1960s, 1970s and until the late-1980s. He also composed music for Telugu, Malayalam and Ta ...

for most of his films. ''Note*: This is a partial filmography. You can expand it.''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dorai-Bhagavan 1933 births Living people 20th-century Indian film directors Kannada film directors Indian filmmaking duos Film directors from Karnataka Artists from Mysore 21st-century Indian film directors