K. R. Seetharama Sastry ( kn, ಕು. ರಾ. ಸೀತಾರಾಮ ಶಾಸ್ತ್ರಿ) popularly known as Ku. Ra. Seetharama Sastry or simply Ku. Ra. Si was an Indian actor, writer, lyricist and director in Kannada film industry. After a career in theatre, Sastry's career in films was those of an actor, director, producer, screenwriter, lyricist and an occasional composer. He is considered one of the most influential personalities in the history of Kannada cinema. Sastry began his film career as an actor in the mythological film, ''

Rajasuya Yaaga ::Not to be confused with the ritual named Rajasuya. ''Rajasuya Yaaga'' (Kannada: ರಾಜಸೂಯ ಯಾಗ) is a 1937 Indian Kannada film, directed by T. Dwarakanath and produced by Timmiah. The film stars S. R. Vasudevarao, T. K. Ramamurh ...

'' (1937). After a brief stint as an actor, he turned into director, lyricist, writer and music composer for the film ''

Mahakavi Kalidasa ''Mahakavi Kalidasa'' is 1955 Indian Kannada-language film directed by K. R. Seetharama Sastry, in his debut direction. The movie is based on the legends of the poet Kālidāsa. It stars Honnappa Bhagavatar as Kālidāsa, a Sanskrit poet who li ...

'' (1955) which emerged as a biggest commercial and critical success of the year. The film won the President's silver medal for Best feature film for the year. Ku.Raa.See. was offered the lead role of the 1954 movie ''

Bedara Kannappa ''Bedara Kannappa'' is a 1954 Indian Kannada-language Hindu mythological film directed by H. L. N. Simha and written by G. V. Iyer. The film stars Rajkumar playing the title character along with Pandari Bai, Kushala Kumari, G. V. Iyer, Sandh ...

'' by Gubbi Veeranna. However, he rejected it owing to the opportunity he got to work in the direction department of Shaw Brothers Studio,

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. The role was subsequently played by Rajkumar who went on to be the matinee idol of

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 ...

. Apart from Kannada language, Sastry directed 2 movies in Malay language: ''Kuraana Kaav'' and ''Iman'' (1954) - both of which were selected for the international film festival of Japan - thereby making him the first director from Karnataka whose movies were exhibited in an international platform. He also won international award for his direction.

Early life

Seetharama Sastry hailed from the

Mysore Kingdom The Kingdom of Mysore was a realm in southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. From 1799 until 1950, it was a princely state, until 1947 in a subsidiary alliance with Brit ...

and was very active in theater during his early age. He found tutelage under Gubbi Veeranna, who is considered the pioneer of Kannada cinema. All his initial movies as an actor was directed by Veeranna.

Filmography

Awards

* 1955 -

3rd National Film Awards The 3rd National Film Awards, then known as State Awards for Films, presented by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1955. Ceremony took place at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi ...

- Certificate of Merit - ''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sastry, K. R. Seetharama Kannada film producers Kannada film directors Kannada-language lyricists Male actors from Mysore Kannada screenwriters Male actors in Kannada cinema Indian male film actors 20th-century Indian film directors Film producers from Karnataka Film directors from Karnataka Businesspeople from Mysore 20th-century Indian male actors 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Writers from Mysore Musicians from Mysore 20th-century Indian composers Kannada film score composers Screenwriters from Karnataka 1922 births 1977 deaths