Bollywood Pays Its Tributes To Girish Karnad

Amol Palekar:  “My personal loss is beyond words!It’s an irreparable loss at many levels,cultural, intellectual, and moreover political! Very few artists had the courage to stand up against the atrocities of the system at the time when speaking up against the Modi establishment was inhibited. Salyut to a grand doyen !I worked with him in KumarShahani’s TARANG and  Basu Chatterjee’s Apne Paraye.”

Anupam Kher:  “Deeply saddened to know about the sad demise of Shri  Girish Karnad ji. He was a great artist, scholar and a brilliant playwright. My first small appearance in the film Utsav which  Shashi Kapoor produced ,  was under Karnadji’s  direction. Also acted in both Tuglaq and Hayavadan plays written by him. He was  much more than  an actor .

Raza Murad:  “I came in contact with Mr Girish Karnad in 1973,when he was appointed as the principal ofFTII,Pune.As a past student,I  was regularly visiting FTII for various functions.He was an eminent writer,stage personality,and a gifted natural actor.His histrionics abilities, time and again were appreciated and applauded by the audience in films in  various  languages.His contribution towards stage and films are simply commendable.I  got an opportunity of sharing  screen space with him in Paanch Qaidi  in 1981.A learned man,who never hesitated to speak the truth,he  never feared  of any backlash from the hardliners trollers.He even received death threats for being forthright and honest.We have lost a thorough gentleman,an immensely talented writer, an actor par excellence and a true son of our motherland.God bless his noble soul.”

Rajit Kapoor:  “One of the very few progressive writers of India whose writing was embedded in rich  Indian roots and traditions.”

Victor Bannerjee: “He will always be remembered as the  consummate man  of the arts.”

Hema Malini: “He  played my hero in Ratna Deep, a film that my mother produced. A restrained   actor and a  dignified  gentleman.”

Giriraj Rao:  “Theatre, literature , television and cinema everywhere Girish built his own individual  identity. A man of his  calibre is born once in  a bluemoon. His work and thoughts  will inspire many generations to come. Girish Karnad  will always be with us through his outstanding work.”