Veteran Sandalwood film director SK Bhagwan passed away on Monday morning in Bengaluru. He was 89. The cause of death was reportedly related to age-related illness.
Taking to his social media account, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai mourned the demise of SK Bhagavan. His tweet read, “Renowned director of Kannada film industry Shri S. K. I was very saddened to hear the news of Bhagavan's death. I pray for his soul. I pray that God gives strength to his family to bear this pain.”
ಕನ್ನಡ ಚಲನಚಿತ್ರರಂಗದ ಖ್ಯಾತ ನಿರ್ದೇಶಕ ಶ್ರೀ ಎಸ್. ಕೆ. ಭಗವಾನ್ ರವರ ನಿಧನದ ಸುದ್ದಿ ತಿಳಿದು ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಬೇಸರವಾಯಿತು. ಅವರ ಆತ್ಮಕ್ಕೆ ಸದ್ಗತಿ ಕೋರುತ್ತೇನೆ. ಅವರ ಕುಟುಂಬವರ್ಗದವರಿಗೆ ಈ ನೋವನ್ನು ಸಹಿಸುವ ಶಕ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ಭಗವಂತ ನೀಡಲಿ ಎಂದು ಪ್ರಾರ್ಥಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ.
— Basavaraj S Bommai (@BSBommai) February 20, 2023
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CM Bommai’s tweet continued, “Dorai-Bhagavan duo has given many tasteful films to Kannada cinema. Dr. Along with his friend Dorai Raj, he directed 55 films including 'Kasthuri Niwas', 'Eradu Soyam', 'Bayalu Dari', 'Giri Kanye', 'Hosa Lekuk' starring Rajkumar. Om Shantih.”
Politician B.K. Hariprasad also took to his Twitter account to mourn the demise of SK Bhagavan and wrote, “I am deeply saddened to hear the news of demise of renowned Kannada director Shri SK Bhagwan He was the glory of Kannada film industry & made great films based on novels suited for family audience May the departed soul rest in peace. I share the pain of his family & fans.”
SK Bhagavan was a part of the legendary filmmaking duo, Dorai–Bhagavan, consisting of directors B. Dorai Raj, who died in 2000 and S. K. Bhagavan. The duo directed 27 films together, which were highly successful at the box-office.
Apart from directing films, SK Bhagavan also acted in a lot of films including Hosabelaku, Bhagyodaya, Mangalasootra, Rowdy Ranganna, Vasantha Geetha, Sootradhaara, Vasantha Geetha, Haalu Jenu, Jeevana Chaithra and Bangalore Mail.
SK Bhagavan was born on July 5, 1933 and began working in the movie industry in 1956 as filmmaker Kanagal Prabhakar Shastri's assistant. In 1967, the filmmaker was listed alongside A.C. Narasimha Murthy as the co-director of Rajadurgada Rahasya.
SK Bhagavan made his directorial debut along with Dorai Raj in the 1968-film Jedara Bale. The duo were the first Kannada filmmakers to make James Bond-style films.