Balakrishna (kannada Actor)

Balakrishna (kannada Actor) Biography

Balakrishna was a noted Kannada actor who was active in the field since 1950s. He played villain and comic roles, apart from several character roles onscreen during the period 1950s to late 1980s. He also played a loving father and other positive roles in many of his films. A versatile actor of Kannada screen known for portraying character roles was devoid of short hearing disability. But he played more than 560 roles onscreen. Fondly called Balanna, his wife was a shadow of strength, lady luck, goddess of power and everything for him. He was completely shattered after his wife’s death. G. V. Iyer was his childhood friend. He appeared in comic roles in numerous Rajkumar movies.

Balakrishna was active in the film scene till his death. Though his health was deteriorating, he himself dubbed for his last film, “Emakinkara”. One of the biggest failures of his life was the establishment of a film studio, which was a huge loss. It’s said that if he had not established his film studio, he would have lead and lived a King’s life. He died of pancreatic cancer at stage four on 19 July 1995 in Bangalore in 1995.

Balakrishna was born on 2 November 1913 in Arasikere, Hassan in the Kingdom of Mysore. Born into a poor family his mother sold him to provide treatment for her ailing husband. But following the ill-treatment from his owner he ran away. At the age of 16 he got associated with theater as an actor and his first stage play was Shri Rama Pattabhishekha. He also did other odd jobs to earn a living.

He joined the drama company of Gubbi Veeranna, which opened him opportunities to film world. He was spotted by filmmaker B. R. Panthulu who spotted him one of the stage performances and gave him the first break to films. He made his film debut through a negative role in the film – Kalachakra. His role got appreciated and very soon he established as a noted character artist of Kannada films over the decades.

Published: N/A

Updated: April 09, 2016