Sundar Rao Nadkarni was an Indian film actor, editor, cinematographer, producer and director. He was the director of the first hit film for AVM productions Bhookails in Telugu in the year 1940, and later the record-creating Tamil film Haridas.

Early life

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Sundar Rao Nadkarni was born in Mangalore in a Konkani speaking family.[1] He started his career in Bangalore as an actor in silent films produced by Surya Films. Later, he moved to Bombay where he took to film direction and editing. Nadkarni caught the eye of film producer Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar who, after the success of Sabhapathy, was looking to make another comedy film. Thereon, he moved to Coimbatore and finally Madras, where he settled down permanently.

In 1942, Nadkarni directed the Tamil film En Manaivi which was a hit. Following this success, Nadkarni also made other successful Tamil films. But his greatest hit was the 1944 film Haridas which set a record by becoming the first Tamil film to run for 110 weeks at a single theatre. He directed all the top Tamil actors during his active years, notably M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and T. R. Rajakumari in Haridas (1944), Narsimha Bharathi in Krishna Vijayam (1950), and MGR and Savitri in Mahadevi (1957).

Filmography

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As director

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Year Title Role(s) Language Notes
1928 Maya Na Rang Director Silent
1930 Randhir Director Silent
Kaliko No Kop Director Silent
Dhoomketu Director Silent
1931 Zindagi Nu Jugar Director Silent
Teer-e-Qatil Director
Qurbani Director
Ishq O Anjam Director
Baaz Bahadur Director
Asir-i-Hirs Director
1939 Shantha Sakkubai Director, editor, actor, singer Tamil
1940 Bhookailas[2] Director Telugu
1942 En Manaivi Director Tamil
1944 Haridas Director Tamil
1946 Valmiki Director Tamil
1950 Krishna Vijayam Director Tamil
1953 Azhagi Director Tamil
1955 Koteeswaran Director Tamil
1957 Mahadhevi Director Tamil
1963 Santha Thukaram Director Kannada National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada

References

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  1. ^ Dhananjayan, G. (3 November 2014). PRIDE OF TAMIL CINEMA: 1931 TO 2013: Tamil Films that have earned National and International Recognition. Blue Ocean Publishers.
  2. ^ "Bhookailas". IMDb.