Ganesh (actor)

ಗಣೇಶ್/Ganesh
Born	(1980-07-02) July 2, 1980 Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Other names	Golden Star Ganesh, Comedy Time Ganesh, Gani
Occupation	Actor, producer, director
Years active	2001–present
Spouse(s)	Shilpa Ganesh (2008–present)

Ganesh (Kannada: ಗಣೇಶ್) (born 2 July 1980) is an Indian film actor and producer in the Kannada film industry. After having found success in television as a show host and supporting actor, he made his film debut as a lead with Chellata in 2006. He shot to popularity with the blockbuster film Mungaru Male (2006), which became one of the biggest hits in Kannada cinema.^[1]

Career

He is born and brought up in karnataka, his father is from utharkand and mother from bellary karnataka

Television career

Guttu was Ganesh's first on-camera project. Though it was made as a telefilm in Karnataka, it ran into difficulties getting a timeslot to air, and the frustrated producers played it as a feature in festivals and select theaters in the USA, Ganesh played the hero, Deepak, a hapless software systems analyst, who gets caught up in the ambitious adventure of an NRI woman (played by Chaya Singh) who visits India to try and re-trace her family tree. His flair for comedy and knack for timing showed through in this first role.

He acted in several TV serials, including Yadva Tadva, Vataara (directed by Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar) and Pa Pa Pandu (directed by Sihi Kahi Chandru).

As a TV artist he popularised the television program Comedy Time. The program was telecast on Udaya TV from Monday to Friday at 5:00–5:30pm in the beginning and later at 5:30–6:00pm. The program concept was unique: Viewers would write a letter to the anchor describing their family and mentioning their telephone number. Then the anchor would call their number, disguising himself as someone else and fool them. After reading each letter a comedy scene from a chosen Kannada film was telecast in the interim. His unique style of greeting the viewers at the start and end of the program was popular, especially with children.

Following the success of this TV show, fans started to call him "Comedy Time" Ganesh. His mother belongs to the Vokkaliga community from Bellary and his father is from utharkand.^[2][3]

Films

His first film was Guttu, a telefilm directed by India's youngest female film director, Priyabharati Joshi, an NRI who came to India with the intention of entering the Indian film industry. Priyabharati offered Ganesh Guttu just as he was about to graduate from Adarsh Film Institute, against the advice of industry insiders who criticized her choice of a newcomer. Guttu was Ganesh's first time facing the camera, before moving on to his TV career and later, feature films.

Ganesh's first feature wide-release film, Chellata, was a moderate success and ran up to 125 days in some theatres. Rekha Vedavyas, who had already acted in quite a few films, acted opposite Ganesh in this film.

Then came the 2006 film Mungaru Male, which was a roaring success. The film was directed by Yograj Bhat. Yograj had narrated the script to Puneeth Rajkumar, who rejected it. Ganesh had been involved in the script development process and was curious to act in the movie. He got director Bhat to meet E. Krishnappa. Since Krishnappa knew Ganesh (both hail from Adakamaranahalli, Nelamangala), he agreed to finance the film. Since Yograj Bhat could not get dates from any Kannada actress, he signed a relatively unknown actress, Pooja Gandhi. The film's lyrics were penned by Jayant Kaikini and music was composed by part-time music director Mano Murthy. Jayant Kaikini, son of renowned writer late Gourish Kaikini, was a well-known columnist and writer. The film was mainly shot during the rainy season in places like Madikeri, Sakaleshpura, Jog Falls and Gadag.

Mungaru Male opened to a good response among audiences and went on a record-breaking spree. The film garnered over 75 crores at the box office.^[4] It released with 150 prints all over Karnataka, and it was one of the Kannada films that ran to packed houses on weekdays in PVR Cinemas multiplex for 400 days.

The remake rights of the movie were acquired by Suryaprakash Rao of SP Entertainers India Private Limited for Rs. 1.5 crores for Tamil and Telugu combined. The film received lukewarm to average reviews. Rediff.com awarded a three-star rating and praised its cinematography, technical values and acting, but opined that the story was flawed. Nowrunning.com felt that the film lacked a credible story line and gave too much importance to music and song picturisation. Kannada portal Thatskannada.com praised the film for its content, narration and usage of rain as a metaphor for love.

His third film as hero, Hudugaata, was released on 8 June 2007. His subsequent films have included Cheluvina Chithara (2007), Gaalipata (2008), Krishna (2007), Aramane (2008), Bombaat (2008), Sangama (2008), Circus (2009), Ullasa Utsaha, and MaLeyali Jotheyali (2009), Eno Onthara (2010), "Kool" (2011), "Maduve Mane" (2011), "Shyloo" (2011) and "Munjane" and "Romeo" (2012).

Awards

• Best Actor (Kannada), 56th Filmfare Awards South: Gaalipata
• Best Actor (Kannada), 57th Filmfare Awards South: Maleyali Jotheyali
• Most Popular Actor, 2008 Ujala Suvarna Film Awards^[5]

Filmography

On TV

TV shows

• Comedy Time on Udaya TV
• Maleyali Jotheyali Special Comedy Time on Udaya Movies

Supporting roles in movies

• Tapori (first film as villan)
• Hudugigaagi
• Aham Premasmi
• Thunta
• Amrithadhare (supporting role as a comedy actor)
• Koun Baneghaga Kotyadhipathi
• Baa Baaro Rasika
• Game
• Masala
• O Priyathama
• Abbabba Yentha Huduga

In leading role

References

External links

• Ganesh at the Internet Movie Database