Udaykumar

Bommasandra Srinivasaiah Suryanarayana Murthy (born 16 March 1933 – 26 December 1985), known by his screen name Udaykumar, was an Indian actor and producer in Kannada cinema. He, along with Kalyan Kumar and Rajkumar, were called the Kumarathrayaru (meaning the three Kumars) of Kannada cinema. He has authored many dramas and books. He has performed a broad range of roles and worked with all of the prominent actors of his day. He portrayed heroic characters early in his career and then played more nuanced villainous characters, often countering Rajkumar's heroic persona in historicals and mythologicals.

Early life
Udaykumar was born into a Brahmin family on 5 March 1933 (some sources say, 16 March 1933). His father's name was B. S. Srinivasaiah, and his mother's name was Sharadamma. Udaykumar was the second of four children born to the couple; he has three sisters. The family had their roots in Andhra Pradesh; their ancestors had moved to Karnataka close to 200 years before Udaykumar's birth.

Udaykumar finished primary education in the villages of Heelalige and Muthanallur near the Sarjapura village in Bangalore and secondary schooling in Anekal. During that period, he was an enthusiastic participant in cultural school activities and contests.

He married Kamalamma after failing his matriculation exams; he was 20 at the time. Udaykumar thereafter started working as a physical education teacher at an Anekal school. He eventually relocated to Bangalore city on the advice of a friend and joined the theatre company of Gubbi Veeranna where he began his career as an actor.

Film career
In 1954, story and screenwriter Kanagal Prabhakar Shastry began working on the script of Bhagyodaya. During this time, Udaykumar played Buddha on stage in Mandya with Gubbi Veeranna's theatre troupe, when Shastry's assistant during the time, S. K. Bhagavan, offered him the lead role in the film. Udaykumar was cast in the part after a successful screen test with Shastry a few days later. Shastry also gave Udaykumar his screen name after the film's title and the banner it was being produced under – Udaya Productions.

"Gandugali" Udaykumar has acted in 193 feature films which include 171 in Kannada, 15 in Telugu, 6 in Tamil, and one in Hindi. He has won many regional and national awards for best performance, especially in Kannada films.

Udayakumar has battled for the objective of "Kannadigas unification" as a strong leader and orator. He took the front line with leaders like Ma. Ramamurthy Kannada flag, Aa. Na. Kru A. N. Krishna Rao, Thirumale Shriranga Tatacharya (of the Karnataka Navodaya movement), Ta. Su. Shama Rao, Dr. Ha. Ma. Nayak, Ta. Ra. Su and many more had fought for the well-being of the language Kannada and the people of Karnataka, through his travels, write-ups, and public speeches throughout the state.

He used his stage plays to convey social messages to the general public through "Udaya Kalanikethana," a training school for Theatrical Arts and Film Acting that he created. Despite his busy filming schedules, Kalakesari Udaykumar used to help underprivileged professional theatre organizations by appearing in plays all throughout Karnataka for at least a week every month beginning in 1960.

In 2005, on the occasion of Udaykumar’s 73rd birthday, the registered charity trust “Pavanasutha Kesari Kalaa Shalaa” was established during a cultural event called “Udaya-73 ONDU SAVINENAPU” (Udaya-73 a treasured remembrance) held in his birthplace of Anekal, Bangalore. The trust, founded by Mr. Vikram Udaykumar, aims to provide social and cultural services and has established a formal educational institution, known as “P.S.M. School” in Anekal, as well as “Kalaashaala,” a cultural school that offers opportunities to learn classical music and performing arts such as Bharathanatyam. The trust’s activities include formal education, promoting rural talent in performing arts, and organizing state-level drama competitions among other initiatives.

Filmography

 * ''All films are in Kannada unless otherwise noted.

Awards

 * 1967–68 – Best Supporting Actor
 * 1977–78 – Best Supporting Actor