Mohan Shankar, popularly mononymously as Mohan, is an Indian actor, writer and film director known for his work in Kannada cinema and television. After beginning his career staging, writing and acting in a variety of plays, his film career began in the late 1990s when he wrote screenplay and dialogue for a handful of Kannada-language films. After his acting debut came in Central Jail (1997), he became recognized for his roles in Yaarige Saluthe Sambala (2000), Kurigalu Saar Kurigalu (2001) and Kothigalu Saar Kothigalu (2001) and Malla (2004). Mohan turned director with Krishna Nee Late Aagi Baaro (2010) also co-starring himself.

Mohan Shankar
Born
NationalityIndian
Occupations
  • Actor
  • writer
  • director
Years active1996–present
Spouse
Vidya
(m. 1998)
Children1

He also wrote story for films such as Lava Kusha (2007), in addition to writing screenplay, dialogue and lysrics for the soundtrack album of more than 50 films in the 2000s and 2010s.[1] Mohan was a contestant in the reality television show Bigg Boss Kannada in its fourth season.[2] His wife Vidya is a singer.[3]

Early life

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Mohan was born and raised in Bangalore. His father, Shankar, worked with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, while mother, Satyabhama, is a homemaker. He obtained a bachelor of science degree from National College, Bangalore in electronics. During this time, he began to act in and write plays. His future wife, Vidya, a singer, was his junior in the college, and the two married in 1998. They have a son together, Mayookha.[4][5]

Career

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After briefly working for a private form, Mohan joined the television channel Udaya TV in the mid-1990s, and worked as an art director and screenwriter for its soap operas. He then began working in films as a screenwriter, before being cast as one of the leads on Yaarige Saluthe Sambala (2000). Prior to that, he had appeared in supporting roles in films such as Central Jail (1997), Kurubana Rani (1998), Krishna Leele (2000) and Preethse (2000). After Yaarige Saluthe Sambala turned out to be a commercial success, Mohan was cast in the first two parts of the comedy film series, Kurigalu Saar Kurigalu: the namesake and Kothigalu Saar Kothigalu, both of which released in 2001 to commercial success. His appearance, partly as a woman, in Olu Saar Bari Olu (2003) received praise.[4] A remake of the Marathi comedy film Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi (1988),[6] it stars Mohan as a friend of Raghupati, who tricks the latter's landlord into believing that he is a woman by posing as one of his wives, named Chandralekha.[7] He played Hanuma, a trusted friend of Ravichandran's eponymous lead, in Malla (2004), also directed by the latter. Mohan also wrote the dialogue for the film.[8]

Mohan made his directorial debut with the romance-drama Krishna Nee Late Aagi Baaro (2010), co-starring himself alongside Ramesh Aravind and Nidhi Subbaiah. Critics received the film well; the reviewer for The Times of India felt the film had "a neat script and lively narration", and termed the film "complete family entertainer".[9] His second film was Narasimha (2012), set in the rural hinterland, where a village vigilante, played by Ravichandran, is at loggerheads with a landlord. The film was panned by critics.[10][11] His other release of the year was a comedy-thriller, Manjunatha BA LLB, a remake of the Malayalam film Hallo (2007). Jaggesh features in the titular role as an alcoholic advocate, whose career is revived by a friend and a stranger who comes to him for legal representation in court.[12][13]

In 2014, Mohan directed Sachin! Tendulkar Alla, a story about an autistic child that dreams of becoming a professional cricketer. The film stars Snehith as the boy, Suhasini Maniratnam as his sister and former cricketer Venkatesh Prasad as his coach. The film received acclaim for its subject matter and performances.[14][15] His next directorial, a thriller titled Male Nilluvavarege was released in 2015, an adaptation of the play, Deadly Game. In addition to directing, Mohan played the lead role in the film, while also producing it and writing the film's screenplay and dialogue. He also wrote lyrics for the film's soundtrack and sang one of the tracks.[16] Muralidhara Khajane reviewed the film positively for The Hindu. He felt the director uses rain (Male) as a metaphor "to represent guilt and tries to make the film different from the violent and romantic films hitting the screens these days."[17] G. S. Kumar of The Times of India praised the film and wrote, "It's a one-man show by Mohan who plays his role to perfection."[18] However, the film's theatrical release was marred by call for a bandh in Karnataka, leading to its poor commercial performance at the box office.[5]

Filmography

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As actor

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Some of the films Mohan has appeared in include:[19]

As writer

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As director

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Television

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  • Kathegara
  • Silli Lalli
  • Nagini 2
  • Gowrishankara
  • Shravani Subramanya

References

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  1. ^ "Sachin-Tendulkar Alla enters re-recording stage". The Times of India. 27 May 2014.
  2. ^ "Mohan Shankar celebrates his birthday on the sets of Nagini 2". The Times of India. 27 September 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  3. ^ Shankar, Mohan (1 May 2024). HOME TOUR-ಮಲ್ಲ ಖ್ಯಾತಿಯ ನಟ ಮೋಹನ್ ಅವರ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಮನೆ, ಮಡದಿ, ಲೈಫ್-Actor Mohan-Kalamadhyama-#param [Home tour of popular actor Mohan, his Bengaluru home, wife, life] (in Kannada). Kalamadhyama. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b Shankar, Mohan (2 May 2024). "ನನ್ನ ಪೇಮೆಂಟ್ ಕೇಳಿದ್ದಕ್ಕೆ ನಟ ಜೈಜಗದೀಶ್ ಅವಮಾನ ಮಾಡಿ ಕಳಿಸಿದ್ರು!"-E02-Actor Mohan-Kalamadhyama-#param [Actor Jai Jagadish insulted me for asking for my payment] (in Kannada). Kalamadhyama. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b Shankar, Mohan (3 May 2024). "ಆ ತಪ್ಪಿಗೆ ದುಡಿದ ಹಣ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಕಳ್ಕೊಂಡು 10 ವರ್ಷ ಸಾಲಗಾರ ಆಗಿಬಿಟ್ಟೆ!"-E03-Actor Mohan-Kalamadhyama-#param [I lost all my hard earned money for that mistake and became a debtor for 10 years] (in Kannada). Kalamadhyama. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  6. ^ "33 Years of 'Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi': Iconic Marathi Comedy Still Rules People's Hearts". News18. 24 September 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  7. ^ "'Olu Saar... Bari Olu'". viggy.com. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  8. ^ "The return of Thambi". Deccan Herald. 30 March 2003. Archived from the original on 23 April 2003. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Krishna Nee Late Aag Baaro Movie Review". The Times of India. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Narasimha". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  11. ^ "Review: Narasimha is for Ravichandran fans only - Rediff.com". Rediff.com. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  12. ^ Sharadhaa, A. (7 September 2012). "'Manjunatha BA LLB' (Kannada)". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  13. ^ "Review: Manjunatha BA LLB is watchable - Rediff.com". Rediff.com. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  14. ^ S. M., Shashiprasad (16 July 2014). "Movie Review 'Sachin! Tendulkar Alla': A Master Stroke". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  15. ^ S., Shyam Prasad. "Film Review: Sachin Tendulkar Alla". Bangalore Mirror. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  16. ^ Sharadhaa, A. (15 April 2015). "Male Nilluvavarege is a One-man Show". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  17. ^ Khajane, Muralidhara (17 April 2015). "Male Nilluvavarege: Test of patience". The Hindu. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  18. ^ "Male Nilluvavarege Movie Review". The Times of India. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  19. ^ "Mohan Shankar". chiloka.com. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
  20. ^ "Pending dream comes true". Deccan Herald. 4 February 2010.
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