Honnappa Bhagavathar, also known as C Honnappa Bhagavatha, is remembered as one of the finest theatre artists, film actors, producers, musicians and singers who worked in Kannada and Tamil film industries. He is also credited for bringing actresses like B Saroja Devi into the film industry with his film Mahakavi Kalidasa.
Directed by KR Seetharama Sastry, Mahakavi Kalidasa, released in 1955, was a hit and cemented B Saroja Devi’s position in cinema. The film chronicled the life of the renowned poet Kalidas. Honnappa Bhagavathar played the lead role in the movie which won the National Award for Best Kannada Film of the Year. It was remade in Telugu (Mahakavi Kalidasu) as well with Akkineni Nageswara Rao in the lead role. Mahakavi Kalidasa was directed in Tamil (Mahakavi Kalidas) also with Sivaji Ganesan in the titular role.
Honnappa Bhagavathar also gave a chance to actress Pandari Bai with his other film titled Parasakthi. It was directed by the duo Krishnan and S Panju. Parasakthi’s plot revolved around the story of three immigrant brothers whose life changed after the death of their father and brother-in-law. Pandari Bai also became one of the most sought-after actresses in Tamil cinema.
The actor featured in several plays as well apart from working in the film industry. In 1960, he started a theatre troupe, Uma Maheswara, and played key roles in many plays. He started his career as a theatre artist only in Kuppa Sri Senna Basaveshwara Natak Sabha.
Fans couldn’t get a chance to see his Tamil film Ninge Nalla Irukannam which remained unreleased. Honnappa Bhagavathar wanted to make this film under the banner of Lalitha Kala Films banner. He had kept the title of this banner on the names of his daughters. The poster of this film was also released but it failed to hit the screens. The reason behind this has not been disclosed to date.
Honnappa Bhagavathar passed away due to natural causes on October 2, 1992. Some of his notable films include Ambikapathi, Krishnakumar, Sathi Sukanya, and Arundhati. Sri Murugan, Gunasagari, Burma Rani, Bhakta Kumbara etc.
