When Anant Nag gave the title of Shyam Benegal’s first film

Shyam Benegal Photo Credit: Bhagya Prakash

One of the leading filmmakers of India’s parallel cinema movement, Shyam Benegal collaborated with Girish Karnad and Ananth Nag, two renowned figures from the fields of theater and cinema of Karnataka. A day after Benegal passed away at the age of 90, Ananth Nag recalled his association with the writer-director. Incidentally, Benegal’s family is from Udupi district of Karnataka.

Anant Nag said, “During my theater stint in Mumbai, Amol Palekar introduced me to theater legend Satyadev Dubey, who took me to Benegal.” The HinduAnanth Nag and Karnad worked with Benegal in highly acclaimed Hindi films. sprout (1974), Nishant (1975), and churn (1976). Anant Nag also worked on Benegal’s other Hindi classics, like Role (1977), condura (1978), and Kalyug (1981).

“I had completed acting in a Kannada film Resolution (Directed by PV Nanjaraje Urs) When Dubey suggested my name to Benegal for the lead role for his first project. Benegal had not seen me perform. They just saw my front and side profile and finalized me as the hero,” Ananth Nag said with a laugh.

Talking about the title of the film, the veteran actor said, “Benegal named the film sproutHowever, they later decided to keep the Hindi title. He asked people nearby, but many people did not know the Hindi equivalent of seedling. Since I grew up in monasteries and ashrams, I was well versed in Sanskrit. i knew sprout Seedling was the correct translation, but I was too shy to tell Benegal. One day, they announced ₹1000 for the title, and that’s when I suggested the name. Ultimately, he was happy with the title and I won the cash prize.”

Ananth Nag said, working with Benegal gave him the right training to grow as an actor. “His heroes were never conventional. His characters had mixed shades and it was challenging to do justice to them,” he said. “Benegal loved making rational films on relevant subjects. Perhaps, condura was Benegal’s only film with spiritual and philosophical layers,” he said.

Even after he moved to Bengaluru, Ananth Nag said he maintained cordial relations with the writer. “Benegal stayed in Koramangala in Bengaluru for some time before coming back to Mumbai. During one of his visits to Bengaluru, I arranged a meeting with journalists. He called me a talented actor in front of the media, but said he was surprised that I joined politics,” said Ananth Nag. “I joked that it was even more surprising that someone who made sharp political plays found my move unusual.”