S. Siddalingaiah

S. Siddalingaiah Biography

S. Siddalingaiah was a veteran writer and director associated with Kannada film industry. Started his career in the late 1960s, Bangaarada Manushya (1972) and Bhootayyana Maga Ayyu (1974) are among his noted directorial ventures and is known for making superstar Rajkumar movies frequently. One of the veteran cine artists of Kannada film industry, he passed away on 12 March 2015 aged 79. Late Tamil actor Murali was his son and noted young actor Adharvaa is his grandson. This talented director is known for giving break to so many artists to film world and was always keen to introduce at least one artist with every film he released.

He was born in 1936. He started his film career as a spot boy and floor boy for Navajyothi studios and later turned an assistant director. Very soon he became a junior artist associated with B. Vittalacharya and has also worked with him as an assistant director. Mayor Muthanna in 1969 starring Rajkumar, Bharathi and Dwarakish was his maiden venture as an independent director. Since then he began a long association with actor Raj Kumar, with whom he made maximum movies.  Rajkumar was paired with Bharathi for many of his movies like Baalu Belagithu, Namma Samsara, Thayi Devaru and Bangaarada Manushya. Bangaarada Manushya (1972) made him a sensation overnight. The movie ran in a theatre continuously for two years.

He introduced his son Murali in the 1983 Kannada film - Prema Parva and has also directed one Tamil film, Puthir in 1986 with Murali as the lead actor. He lost his son Murali in 2010. He took a break from the industry in 1999 and his last release was - Premaa Prema Prema. He died on 12 March 2015 at a private hospital due to multiple organ failure. He was affected by H1N1 earlier, though he recovered from it. He is a recipient of several awards including the prestigious Puttanna Kanagal Award 1993-1994.

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Updated: January 04, 2016