Anant Nag - Film Career

Film Career

Shyam Benegal introduced him into Hindi cinema in his 1973 film Ankur. Anant Nag acted in many of Shyam Benegal's movies after that. Well known for his mainstream Kannada films, Nag is active in alternative Indian cinema.

His entry into Kannada films was through legendary G. V. Iyer's Hamsageethe. It is one of the most critically acclaimed of his movies and is about trysts of a learner whose greatest search is finding the right Guru.

Nag and fellow South Indian popular actress Lakshmi have been known as an all-time greatest pair in Kannada movies. They acted together in more than 25 films. Most of the films based on Ta　Ra　Su novels and directed by great Duari-Bhagavan, the sad endings of the most of films based on life of middle class young couples made Anant and Lakshmi house hold name in Karnataka.

Although he began his career as an actor in artistic movies, became most popular in comedies due to his versatile acting and natural sense of humour. Ananth Nag kept re-inventing himself with each era. In the 1970s and 80s, he was the darling of the middle-class with his natural acting. He also dabbled in television during this period. In the 90s, he experimented with negative roles (Shanti Kranti) and accepted character roles.

With greatest hits in the films like Ganeshana Maduve, Gauri Ganesha, Udbava, Undoohoda Konduhoda, Beladingala Baale, Hasyaratna Ramakrishna, Yarigu Helbedi, dairya lakshmi, he has been noted for his abilities. These days, he appears in supporting roles in Kannada movies (for example, blockbuster films like Mungaru Male): He has been the favourite choice of most popular directors of Kannada cinema. He is equally popular in supportive roles amongst dignified viewers across the Karnataka. His recent movie Eredane maduve has been a huge hit where he acted in a lead role with Suhasini Maniratnam.

Nag acted in Anahat and it drew rave reviews. Marathi film director Amol Palekar found Nag's sensitive depiction of the king's dilemmas to have greatly enhanced the multifaceted complexities of the film. The character portrayed by Nag has depth and dimension, powerfully drawing you into the core of the story.

Though he is one of the most influential men both from a film and political point of view, he has often been regarded as the finest, the simplest and polite personality. His appearance in front of media or appearances for publicity have hardly been noticed and the association of his name with any controversy has hardly been reported, either with his film or with political career. For these reasons, Nag is considered as one of the most respectable personalities in the real life. Now he is one of the most sought-after actor in Kannada cinemas.