Shankar Nag filmography

Shankar Nag was an Indian film actor, director, screenwriter and producer known for his work in Kannada cinema. He directed seven Kannada films and one Marathi film. He also wrote the story and screenplay of many of these including a few films that he did not direct. After beginning his acting career in theatre, Nag took to films making his debut in a bit role in the 1978 Marathi anti-superstition drama Sarvasakshi. His Kannada film debut came in the same year with Ondanondu Kaladalli directed by Girish Karnad, in which Nag played the lead, a mercenary named Gandugali. The role that fetched him the Silver Peacock for the Best Actor Award (Male) at the 7th International Film Festival of India. Other than Minchina Ota, he also co-produced two of his directorial ventures — Janma Janmada Anubandha (1980) and Geetha (1981).

Nag co-wrote the 1979 Marathi film 22 June 1897 with director Nachiket Patwardhan. His directorial debut came in the heist film Minchina Ota (1980), a film that he also wrote and starred in, alongside brother Anant Nag. Anant would go on to become a frequent collaborator. Shankar remade Minchina Ota in Hindi as Lalach (1983). He would go on to direct six other films, all in Kannada, most notably the crime-drama Accident (1985), that highlighted a nexus between the media and the political system. The film won the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues at the 32nd National Film Awards. His last film as a director was Ondu Muttina Kathe (1987), based on the John Steinbeck's novella The Pearl, that starred Dr. Rajkumar. Nag shot to national fame with the television series Malgudi Days (1986–1988) that he directed, based on R. K. Narayan's collection of short stories of the same name.

As an actor, Nag made his first appearance in a commercial film with Seetharamu (1979). His role as Raja, the auto rikshaw driver in Auto Raja (1980), became widely popular, and continues to hold cut status in Karnataka. The 1980s saw Nag appearing most notably in action thrillers and rogue cop films with plenty of martial arts posturing, earning him the moniker "Karate King". In Sangliyana (1988) and S. P. Sangliyana Part 2 (1990), he played the eponymous lead, based on the real-life cop H. T. Sangliana. C.B.I. Shankar (1989) is another film in the same genre. Films such as Muniyana Madari (1981), Karmika Kallanalla (1982), Nodi Swamy Navirodu Hige (1983) and Lorry Driver (1987) saw him portray working-class men. In the ensemble Hindi film Utsav (1984), he played a thief who falls in love with a courtesan. Nag last filmed for Sundarakanda (1991) which released after his death by car crash in 1990.