Chaitanya K M

Filmmaker, Theater Person

Chaitanya KM is a film maker and theater person. He started his career as assistant director to Girish Karnad in 1986. He worked as an assistant director to Karnad for two television series – Antaraal (based on case studies in psychology) and Swaraj Nama (a series that paid tribute to 50 years of Indian independence). Chaitanya became Karnad’s associate director for Kanooru Heggadithi, Kuvempu’s classic that Karnad made simultaneously as a feature film in Kannada and as a television series in Hindi. When Karnad was commissioned by Doordarshan to televise 3 Kannada classics, Chaitanya directed two of those – Devanooru Mahadeva’s Kusumabaale and Shantinath Desai’s Om Namo, which Karnad produced. Karnad himself directed the other classic, Tejasvi’s Chidambara Rahasya. When Karnad wrote the play Odakalu Bimba, he decided to direct it himself, the first time Karnad was directing a play he had written. He directed it with Chaitanya. The play was made in Kannada and Hindi with Arundhati Nag in the lead and in English with Arundhathi Raja in the lead. Karnad wrote the screenplay for Chaitanya’s first film Aa Dinagalu along with Agni Sreedhar. He also played a crucial role in the film. Chaitanya has made two documentaries on Karnad. Nadedu Banda daari in Kannada and Scattering Golden Feathers in English.