Baba Karantha

Deep into the night of the colourful autumn of 1929, a boy named Venkataramana Karanth was born to Narnappayya and Lakshmamma in the beautiful village of Babukodi. From a young age, the boy was drawn to music, learning its basics from nature and his surroundings. An avid reader, he even developed the habit of stealing and lying to support his interests. Little did anyone know what would become of the boy who left for Mysuru.

A legend was born when he knocked on the doors of the Gubbi Company. His great journey into the world of theatre took him to Varanasi, where he learned music and Hindi. Eventually, he got married and moved to Delhi. As luck would have it, he was first a student at the National School of Drama (NSD) and went on to become its Director. He later established Rangamandala at Bhopal and Rangayana at Mysuru. Such was his love for theatre that he sowed and nurtured its seeds across the length and breadth of the country.

B. V. Karanth was a thespian par excellence. He redefined and recreated theatre music, leaving an everlasting impression on and influencing generations of theatre practitioners. His life itself was no less than a play - a colourful, eventful and sometimes bumpy journey through highs and lows, filled with emotions to the brim.

Baba Karanth is a theatrical representation of the life of the legendary thespian B. V. Karanth. Based on B. V. Karanth biography Illiralare Allige Hogalare by Vaidehi and Prema Karanth autobiography Solisabeda Gelisayya, the play has been stage-adapted by Krishnaprasad and Shripathi Manjanabailu, and conceptualised and directed by T. S. Nagabharana.