K. M. Chaitanya (

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

: ಚೈತನ್ಯ) is a film director, documentary maker and theater person. His first feature film

Aa dinagalu ''Aa Dinagalu'' () is a 2007 Indian Kannada-language crime drama film based on the non-fiction novel ''Daadaagiriya Dinagalu'' by Agni Shridhar, and directed by K. M. Chaitanya. It stars Chethan Kumar in the lead role. The supporting cast featu ...

, won several awards including the

Filmfare Awards South Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassing ...

for Best Director and Best Feature Film in 2007. Chaitanya also won awards for Best Debutant Director by the South Indian Cinematographers' Association, Chennai Film Fans Association and Raghavendra Chitravani Award.

Aa Dinagalu ''Aa Dinagalu'' () is a 2007 Indian Kannada-language crime drama film based on the non-fiction novel ''Daadaagiriya Dinagalu'' by Agni Shridhar, and directed by K. M. Chaitanya. It stars Chethan Kumar in the lead role. The supporting cast featu ...

was listed by

The Week ''The Week'' is a weekly news magazine with editions in the United Kingdom and United States. The British publication was founded in 1995 and the American edition in 2001. An Australian edition was published from 2008 to 2012. A children's edi ...

among the top 10 Indian films of 2007. Chaitanya studied Journalism at Christ College.

Career

Films

Chaitanya directed "Suryakaanti", a feature film in Kannada language, in 2010. The film was the first from South India to be shot in Uzbekistan. An action packed romance drama, the film’s music was scored by legendary composer Ilaiyaraja. Cinematography was by H C Venugopal. It stars Chetan, Regina, Tamil actor Nasser, Marathi actor Ganesh Yadav and Ramakrishna among others. He has worked as Associate director to

Girish Karnad Girish Karnad (19 May 1938 – 10 June 2019) was an Indian actor, film director, Kannada writer, playwright and a Jnanpith awardee, who predominantly worked in South Indian cinema and Bollywood. His rise as a playwright in the 1960s marked the ...

for the National award winning film " Heggadithi, Kaanooru Heggadathi".

Documentaries

Chaitanya has also directed several documentaries. He was the director for the series "Back To the Floor" that was telecast on BBC World Service television. He also directed documentaries as part of the BBC series Business Bizarre. He also directed a Kannada documentary titled "Nadedu Banda Daari" on the life and work of his mentor

commissioned by

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...

. He has written and directed a documentary for The Ministry of Culture, Government of India on

Yakshagana Yakshagaana is a traditional theatre, developed in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Shimoga and western parts of Chikmagalur districts, in the state of Karnataka and in Kasaragod district in Kerala that combines dance, music, dialogue, ...

. He has directed a documentary series "Business Bizarre" (2003) for the

BBC World BBC World News is an international English-language pay television network, operated under the ''BBC Global News Limited'' division of the BBC, which is a public corporation of the UK government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and S ...

– on unique business opportunities in India. He has directed "Cancer Stories" (2002 – 2003) – a documentary on Cancer for patients in the UK. He has directed a documentary on "Traditional Narratives in Speech Training" for the

National School of Drama National School of Drama (NSD) is a theatre training institute situated at New Delhi, India. It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and became an indepe ...

, New Delhi

Television

Chaitanya has also produced and directed serials for television. These include Kichchu in

ETV ETV may stand for: Television * e.tv, a South African terrestrial television channel * Educational Television (Hong Kong), a television series * Educational television, the use of television in education * Enhanced TV, an interactive television ap ...

Kannada which brought about issues of rural woman and their turbulent lives. The serial had National award winning actor Umashree in the lead role. He has also produced "Mugilu" (Clouds) and written and produced the historical series "Ondaanondu Kaaladalli" for ETV, Kannada. Chaitanya has directed a mini series for television based on "Kusumabaale" – the award winning novel by dalit activist and Padmashree award winning writer

Devanur Mahadeva Devanoora Mahadeva is an Indian writer and intellectual who writes in Kannada language. The Government of India conferred upon him the Padma Shri award, the fourth highest civilian award. Known among literary circles to be a rebel, Mahadeva re ...

. He then adapted yet another novel into a tele series. It was based on "Om Namo" written by renowned Kannada writer Shantinath Desai. Both the mini series were produced by

. He is presently producing a television series called Aakrutii – for Udaya TV, Kannada. The series is a paranormal and horror based storyline presently under production. He has produced,written and directed "PreethiEndarenu", a television series in Kannada for Suvarna Channel in Karnataka. Starring film actors JahnaviKamat and Shrunga, the serial is a romantic comedy that was telecast every Monday to Saturday at 6.30pm on Suvarna channel. He has produced and written the story & screenplay for a TV series titled Mookambika. It is a fantasy set in a fictional land in history. The series was directed by veteran director Rajender Singh. It was telecast on ETV, Kannada from October, 2011. He has produced and directed Mugilu (2007) a popular daily television series on ETV Kannada. He has directed Kichchu (2006) a daily television series for ETV Kannada. An adaptation from three plays by Spanish playwright Garcia Lorca, Kichchu was a popular series set in medieval India. It concerns the story of four unmarried girls and their widowed mother, dealing with life in a feudal setup. He has directed "Nigudha" – in Kannada with a duration of 90 mins for DD9, the satellite television channel for Kannada. The film was based on a real-life psychological case study of Manic-depressive Psychosis and was produced by T.N. Seetharam. He has co- directed with Girish Karnad for "KanoorkiThakurani" a Hindi serial based on a Kannada novel by Kuvempu. The serial was simultaneously produced along with a Kannada feature film on the same novel. He has been an Associate Director to Girish Karnad in the television series – "Antaraal". The series dealt with case studies in Psychology compiled by renowned psychologist Dr Ashok Pai. Also scripted a few episodes of the series.

Theatre

Chaitanya has directed several dramas for the stage. Prominent among them are

Mahesh Elkunchwar Mahesh Elkunchwar (born 9 October 1939) is an Indian playwright and screenplay writer in Marathi language with more than 20 plays to his name, in addition to his theoretical writings, critical works, and his active work in India's ''Parallel Cin ...

's play Vasamshi Jeernani produced by Drishti theatre group, translated by

. He has also directed Jnanpith award winning writer Chandrashekar Kambar's play "Sambashiva Prahasana", P. Lankesh's "Sankranthi", Prasanna's "Dangeya Munchina Dinagalu" and

Edward Albee Edward Franklin Albee III ( ; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as ''The Zoo Story'' (1958), '' The Sandbox'' (1959), ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1962), '' A Delicate Balance'' (1966) ...

's "

Zoo Story ''The Zoo Story'' is a one-act play by American playwright Edward Albee. His first play, it was written in 1958 and completed in just three weeks. The play explores themes of isolation, loneliness, miscommunication as anathematization, social ...

". Dangeya Munchina Dinagalu was his directorial debut during his tenure as a student at Christ College in 1991. The cast consisted of 57 students and the show won laurels at the Inter-collegiate Ullal Shield theatre competitions of Karnataka. He has Directed

play Odakalu bimba along with the playwright. Featuring Padmadshri and National award winning actress, Arundati Nag, the play was also staged in Hindi by

and Chaitanya as "Bikhare Bimb" and in English as "A heap of broken images" (Featuring Arundathi Raja). Bikhare Bimb won the Mahindra Excellence in Theater Award (National Award) for the year 2008.

Awards and honours

• Winner of the Filmfare award for Best Director for the year 2007 for the film 'AaDinagalu'. • Winner of the award for Best Debutant Director given by SICA (South Indian Cinematographer’s Association). • Winner of the award for Best Debutant Directo given by Chitravani, a popular film magazine in the Kannada language. • Won the Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Award (META) for BEST DIRECTOR for the theatre production "BikhareBimb" (Hindi) along with Girish Karnad. • Won the Times KAFTA award -2017, for "Best Adapted Screenplay" for the movie Aake. • Awarded as 'Distinguished Alumni' by Christ University, Bangalore in 2015. • Awarded 'Distinguished Alumni' by University of Hyderabad 2019. • Served as Member, Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy for the duration 2012 –14.

Other works

He has worked as Bangalore Correspondent for CNN indiadotcom – a weekly series on the Information Technology Sector on CNN between 2000 – 2002. • Directed corporate films and advertisements for several companies including Madhura Garments, Grasim, Confederation of Indian Industries, Edusports, Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation (KSIC), JNPT, Southern Batteries, Vetcare, Mysore paints,Madhu automobiles,Neeladri amusement park, Raichur Thermal Electrical Plant, HUDCO and many others.

Filmography

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaitanya, K. M. 1974 births Living people Kannada film directors Film directors from Bangalore Indian theatre directors Indian documentary filmmakers Indian television directors 21st-century Indian film directors Christ University alumni