Sharatchandra Lohithaswa (born 5 May 1972), known popularly as Sharath Lohithaswa, is an Indian actor mostly known for his work in

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 ...

and Tamil films. He has had a successful career in

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

, where he continues to work, and television. After working as a lecturer for a brief period, Sharath took to acting as a full-time profession and worked on stage following the footsteps of his father

Lohithaswa Lohithaswa T. S. (5 August 1942 – 8 November 2022) was an Indian Kannada film actor and playwright and an English professor. He acted in more than five hundred Kannada movies, stage plays, and television serials. He was popularly known for h ...

. He began working in films in 1995 and has today established himself as a

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

Early life

Sharath had an inclination towards

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

and

as a child, and "dramatise

Bhagat Singh Bhagat Singh (27 September 1907 – 23 March 1931) was a charismatic Indian revolutionary* * who participated in the mistaken murder of a junior British police officer * * in what was to be retaliation for the death of an Indian nationa ...

on stage when in school." He "used to read a lot of plays written by people like Kambar" and rated himself as a "fairly good singer too." He accompanied his father

, to his rehearsals for plays, and also took part in "many stage and radio plays before doing amateur theatre in Bengaluru." This led his father

to suggest that Sharath take English-language as his graduation subject. Sharath also obtained a master's degree in English from

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

's National College, where he also went on to work as lecturer.

Career

After a while, "boredom and monotony" led Sharath to quit and taking to acting as a full-time profession starting with stage. He performed in ''Vasamsi Jirnani'', based on a

Marathi-language Marathi (; ''Marāṭhī'', ) is an Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the official language of Maharashtra, and additional official language in the state of Goa. It is one of t ...

play, and ''Nanna Thangige Ondu Gandu Kodi'' among others. His made his film debut playing a

bit part In acting, a bit part is a role in which there is direct interaction with the principal actors and no more than five lines of dialogue, often referred to as a five-or-less or under-five in the United States, or under sixes in British television, ...

M. S. Sathyu Mysore Shrinivas Sathyu ( kn, ಮೈಸೂರು ಶ್ರೀನಿವಾಸ ಸತ್ಯು) (born 6 July 1930) is a leading film director, stage designer and art director from India. He is best known for his directorial ''Garm Hava'' (1973), ...

's non-commercial film, and his commercial film debut with ''

Huliya ''Huliya'' is a 1996 Indian Kannada-language action drama film written and directed by K. V. Raju and produced by G. Govind and Kadur Ramesh under the Shri Raghavendra Films banner. It stars Devaraj and Archana. Apart from them, the film stars ...

'' (1996). In an interview to ''

Deccan Herald ''Deccan Herald'' is an Indian English language daily newspaper published from the Indian state of Karnataka. It was founded by K. N. Guruswamy, a liquor businessman from Ballari and was launched on 17 June 1948. It is published by The Printe ...

'' in 2003, he recalled, "I was offered the role of ''

'' for which I was supposed to sport a funny haircut. After that, I could not go into teaching again. The roles that I was offered after Huliya were repetitive. I got fed up. Fortunately or unfortunately, I met with an accident and was forced to off work for at least two to three years. ''Godhuli'' came as a major break in my career." He received appreciation for his role as Cheluvanayaka in

Chi. Guru Dutt Chitnahalli Guru Dutt is an Indian actor and director, primarily concentrating on Kannada and Tamil films. He is the son of Chi. Udaya Shankar. Career He debuted along with Shivrajkumar in the Kannada film '' Anand'' (1986). He was launched i ...

's ''Godhuli'', also fetching him the Aryabhata Award. While he began working in films starting in 1995, it was television that gave him recognition. He appeared in Sathyu's ''Khayar'' and ''Poli Kitty''. Work in ''Kicchu'' and ''Chidambara Rahasya'' led him to become a popular face in Kannada television. In films, Sharath was cast as

Kotwal Ramachandra Kotwal Ramachandra was a gangster in Bangalore in the 1970s and 1980s. He covered Bengaluru North and operated in Kodandarampura and Srirampura there. He was a contemporary of rival M. P. Jayaraj. The two had a power struggle over who would rul ...

in ''

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 ...

'' (2007), a performance that received praise. R. G. Vijayasarathy of ''

Rediff.com Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City. , it had more than 300 e ...

'' called his performance "wonderful". He received multiple awards for his performance, including the South Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. Sharath's debut in Tamil films came with '' Ethir Neechal''. He appeared in other Kannada films such as ''

Sanju Weds Geetha ''Sanju Weds Geetha'' is a 2011 Indian Kannada-language romance film directed and written by Nagashekar and produced by Pramod Narayan, starring Srinagar Kitty and Ramya in the lead roles. Jassie Gift composed the soundtrack, while Sadhu Kokila ...

'' (2011) and ''

Bheema Theeradalli Bheema Theeradalli is a 2012 Kannada biopic action film directed by Om Prakash Rao and produced-shot by cinematographer Anaji Nagaraj. The film stars Duniya Vijay and Pranitha Subhash. Controversial Excise minister in the State Cabinet of Kar ...

'' (2012). He is known mostly for portrayal of villainous roles in the South Indian films. For his performance in ''Matthe Satyagraha'' (2014), he received the

Karnataka State Film Award for Best Supporting Actor Karnataka State Film Award for Best Supporting Actor is a state film award of the Indian state of Karnataka given during the annual Karnataka State Film Awards. The award honours Kannada language films. Superlative Winners Award winners The ...

Filmography

Awards

Karnataka State Film Awards Karnataka State Film Awards are the most notable and prestigious film awards given for Kannada film industry in Karnataka, India. These are considered the highest awards for Kannada language films. They are given annually by the Government ...

* 2013: Best Supporting Actor: ''Matthe Satyagraha'' Udaya Sunfeast Awards * 2008 - Won—Best Villain Award for ''

'' Airtel Kasturi Awards * 2008 - Won—Best Villain Award for ''

'' Mysore Minerals' Awards * 2008 - Won—Best Supporting Actor for ''

Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

* 2008 - Won— Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor in Kannada cinema for ''

'' * 2013 - Nominated— Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor - Kannada for ''

Kaddipudi ''Kaddipudi'' is a 2013 Indian Kannada language crime drama film directed by Duniya Soori and produced by M. Chandru. The screenplay was written by Soori and Rajesh Nataranga and the film stars Shiva Rajkumar as Anand alias Kaddipudi, a ''rowdy' ...

South Indian International Movie Awards South Indian International Movie Awards, also known as the SIIMA Awards, rewards the artistic and technical achievements of the South Indian film industry. It was launched in 2012 by Vishnu Vardhan Induri and Brinda Prasad Adusimilli to appreci ...

* 2012: Nominated, Best Actor in a Negative Role – Kannada: ''

'' * 2014: Nominated, Best Actor in a Negative Role – Kannada: ''

Ambareesha ''Ambareesha'' is a 2014 Indian Kannada-language action film directed and produced by Mahesh Sukhadhare under the Sri Sukhadhare Pictures banner. The film stars Darshan, Rachita Ram and Priyamani. Dr.Ambareesh and his wife Sumalatha Ambarees ...

Santosham Film Awards Santosham Film Awards, currently known as Santosham South Indian Film Awards are one of the most popular awards given for Tollywood films and Telugu Music Artistes. Background The awards first began in 2004 by the annual ''Santosham'' magazine ...

* 2012 - Won—Best Supporting Actor - Kannada:

Bangalore Times Film Awards 2012 * 2012 - Nominated—Best Actor in a Negative Role for ''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lohithaswa, Sharath 1972 births Living people Indian male stage actors Indian male television actors Kannada people Male actors in Kannada cinema Indian male film actors People from Tumkur Filmfare Awards South winners 21st-century Indian male actors