Prakash Belawadi

{{Infobox person

| name = Prakash Belawadi

| image = Prakash Belavadi 4.jpg

| caption = Belawadi during the making of theatrical play of Parva in 2021

| landscape = yes

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1961|03|03|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Bangalore, Karnataka, India

| other_names =

| alma_mater = UVCE, Bengaluru

| occupation = {{hlist|Actor|filmmaker|screenwriter|activist|journalist}}

| years_active = 1972–present

| known_for =

| notable_works = Madras Cafe
Airlift
The Tashkent Files
The Kashmir Files

| spouse = Chandrika Belawadi

| children = 2

| mother = Bhargavi Narayan

| relatives = Sudha Belawadi (sister)
Samyukta Hornad (niece)

| organisation = Loksatta

}}

Prakash Belawadi (born 3 March 1961) is an Indian actor, director and screenwriter, who works predominately in English, Kannada and Hindi theatre, films and television. He is also a theatre teacher, activist and a journalist. He hails from Bengaluru.{{cite web|last1=Patel|first1=Aakar|title=A restless Renaissance Man|date=31 August 2013|url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/PqMncNXmZWWF81V4XYOu1M/A-restless-Renaissance-Man.html}} He has participated in many seminars, conferences and festivals in India and abroad. He is a motivational speaker at events and TEDx conferences.{{cite web|title=TEDx talks by Prakash Belwadi|url=https://www.simplylifeindia.com/prakash-belawadi.html|website=Simply Life India Speakers Bureau}}{{cite web|title=Interactive Movies, Prakash Belawadi, TEDxSIBMBengaluru|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZMEchRFuYU|website=YouTube| date=5 April 2017 }}{{cite web|title=When Tomorrow Comes, Prakash Belawadi, TEDxBITBangalore|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXYtOsygt4g|website=YouTube| date=10 January 2018 }}{{cite web|title=Identities," Are you really what you are ? ", Prakash Belawadi, TEDxNMIMSBangalore|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIdLekdHzIg|website=YouTube| date=26 March 2019 }}

He is also a mentor with the founding team of BISFF (Bengaluru International Short Film Festival) since 2010.{{cite web|title=Prakash Belawadi, A mentor at BISFF'19|url=https://bisff.in/about-us.php|website=Bengaluru International Short Film Festival|access-date=19 December 2019|archive-date=19 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219072806/https://bisff.in/about-us.php|url-status=dead}}

Belawadi prefers stage acting as opposed to film acting.{{cite web |title= "I Can Quit Acting, Not Theatre" Says Actor-Director Prakash Belawadi|url= https://starofmysore.com/can-quit-acting-not-theatre-says-actor-director-prakash-belawadi/ |website= starofmysore.com|date= 2 August 2017 }}

Early life

Belawadi was born into a family of theatre artists in Bangaluru, in the erstwhile Mysuru State (now Karnataka).{{cite web|title=BEST OF BANGALORE - Innovation Edition|date=21 July 2014 |url=https://issuu.com/svengvp/docs/bob2_book/53|access-date=21 July 2014}} His father, Belawadi Nanjundaiah Narayan (1929–2003) popularly known as Makeup Nani, was a personality in Kannada theatre, who also appeared in films, and worked as a make-up artist. His mother, Bhargavi Narayan, was a renowned film and theatre artiste. His siblings Sujata, Sudha and Pradeep, and nieces and nephews are also variously connected with theatre, music, television and cinema.{{cite web|title=Family time in Kannada films|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/entertainment/family-time-in-kannada-films-774508.html|website=Deccan Herald|date=8 November 2019}} He completed his elementary education at Mahila Seva Samaja, higher school education in National High School, following which he completed his pre-university course at National College, Bangaluru.{{cite web|title=Prakash Belawadi - Ward No 142 - Loksatta Party (LSP) Candidate - BBMP Elections|url=http://www.mybengaluru.com/resources/2961-Prakash-Belawadi-Ward-No-Loksatta-Party.aspx|website=My Bengaluru|date=26 March 2010|access-date=19 December 2019|archive-date=19 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219074800/http://www.mybengaluru.com/resources/2961-Prakash-Belawadi-Ward-No-Loksatta-Party.aspx|url-status=dead}} He obtained a degree in mechanical engineering from University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering in 1983.{{cite web|title=Alumni of UVCE|url=https://uvce.ac.in/alumni.php}}

Awards

Prakash Belawadi's debut film Stumble, which he wrote and directed, won the National Award for Best Film in the English language, 2003.{{cite web |title= The 50th National Film Awards |url=https://www.outlookindia.com/website/story/the-50th-national-film-awards/220927 |website= outlookindia.com|date=30 July 2003 }}
He was conferred ‘Pratibha Bhushan’ in 2003 by the Government of Karnataka for his contribution to culture.{{cite news |title= Pratibha Bhushan title is conferred on Nikhil Joshi and Prakash Belawadi (culture) |url= https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/Honour-for-Sachin-Saurav-and-Kumble/articleshow/136758.cms |newspaper= The Times of India|date= 19 August 2003 |access-date=19 August 2003}}
He was recipient of Karnataka Nataka Academy Award (2011–12) for his contribution to English and Kannada-language theatre.{{cite web |title= Venkatswamy, Belawadi get Nataka Academy Awards |url= https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2012/sep/28/venkatswamy-belawadi-get-nataka-academy-awards-410366.html |website= newindianexpress.com|date= 28 September 2012 |access-date=28 September 2012}} and
He was awarded the ‘Pride of Karnataka’ by Bangalore Round Table (2015).{{cite web|title= Pride of Karnataka Awards 2015|url= https://roundtableindia.wordpress.com/2015/07/01/bangalore-rt-7-pride-of-karnataka-awards//articleshow/136758.cms|website= Round Table India blogs}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
He was the ‘Varshada Kannadiga’ (2015) in the field of entertainment, conferred by News 18 Kannada.{{cite web|title= Kannadiga of the year 2018|url= https://kannada.news18.com/kannadiga-of-the-year-2018/|website= Kannadiga of the year 2018|access-date= 21 December 2019|archive-date= 26 June 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220626072941/https://kannada.news18.com/kannadiga-of-the-year-2018/|url-status= dead}}
He was given Helpmann Award, Australia (2019) for Best Actor, Male in the play 'Counting and Cracking', Belvoir St. Theatre, Sydney".{{cite web |title= Best Male Actor in a Play, Helpmann Awards 2019 |url= http://www.helpmannawards.com.au/2019/nominees-and-winners/}}{{cite web |title= Helpmann awards 2019: Belvoir sweeps stage industry accolades over two nights |website= TheGuardian.com|date= 15 July 2019|url= https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2019/jul/16/helpmann-awards-2019-belvoir-sweeps-stage-industry-accolades-over-two-nights/}}

International

Belawadi as mentioned earlier has participated in many seminars, conferences and festivals in India{{cite web|title=Archives for Prakash Belawadi|url=http://bangaloreliteraturefestival.org/tag/prakash-belawadi/|website=Bangalore Literature Festival}}{{cite news|last1=Duttagupta|first1=Ishani|title=Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week: Does Rabindranath Tagore still matter|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/sweden-india-nobel-memorial-week-does-rabindranath-tagore-still-matter/articleshow/25899001.cms|newspaper=The Economic Times|access-date=17 November 2013}}{{cite web|title=A Lecture Series on the Practitioner's Approach Lecture 7, Production of Knowledge in the Arts, FIXING CLIVE in HISTORY|url=http://ces.iisc.ac.in/hpg/ragh/ccs/events2012.htm|website=The Centre for Contemporary Studies, Indian Institute of Science}}{{cite news|title=Prakash Belwadi at the Mangaluru Literary Festival 2018|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Mangalore/mangaluru-literary-festival-from-november-3/article25376282.ece|website=The Hindu|date=31 October 2018|access-date=31 October 2018}}{{cite web|title=Prakash Belwadi at the Mangaluru Literary Festival 2019|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/state/mangaluru/mangaluru-lit-fest-2019-on-nov-29-30-779821.html|website=The Deccan Herald|access-date=23 November 2019}} and abroad, including the Beyond Bollywood conference at the Gothenburg International Film Festival, 2010 {{cite web|title=Beyond Bollywood|url=https://issuu.com/universityofgothenburg/docs/guj-eng-5-2010/14|website=GU Journal no 5-2010|date=11 November 2010 |access-date=11 November 2010}} the Performing Arts Market conference in Seoul, 2011 {{cite web|title=Venue in Need for More In-depth Interactive Discussions|url=http://www.gokams.or.kr/Data/GKBM29/THEAPRO%202011.pdf}} the 50th Theatertreffen – annual theatre festival meet at Berlin, 2013 {{cite web|last1=HORWITZ|first1=ANDY|title=Notes From Berlin|url=https://www.culturebot.org/2013/08/18523/notes-from-berlin-part-ii/4/|website=culturebot.org|date=23 August 2013|access-date=23 August 2013}} and the seminar and exhibition, ‘Nature – A Good Idea’ at Trollhättan, Sweden in 2014.{{cite web|title=NATURE: A GOOD IDEA|url=https://www.peter-ojstersek.com/geodesic-domes/nature-a-good-idea/}} He has been faculty for film courses in Sweden and Istanbul, Turkey.{{cite web|title=Film Lab - to Explore the Image of The Other (FBF630)|url=https://akademinvaland.gu.se/english/education/film/elective-courses|website=akademinvaland.gu.se|access-date=15 December 2019|archive-date=15 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215144115/https://akademinvaland.gu.se/english/education/film/elective-courses|url-status=dead}}

Partial filmography

File:Prakash Belavadi, S.L. Bhyrappa 6.jpg (left) and Prakash Belavadi (middle) discussing about the making of theatrical play on novel Parva]]

File:Prakash Belavadi 5.jpg

= Films =

Year ! Film ! Role ! Language ! class="unsortable" \|Notes
class="wikitable sortable"
1973	Abachurina Postofficu		Kannada	Child actor
1978	Muyyi		Kannada	Child actor
1999	Kanooru Heggadithi	Obe Gowda	Kannada
2001	Mathadana		Kannada
2013	Madras Cafe	Bala	Hindi
2014	Youngistaan	Murli Mukundan	Hindi
rowspan="6" \| 2015	Benkipatna	Limba Rama \| Kannada
Uttama Villain	Dr D. S. (Neurosurgeon)	Tamil
Aatagara	Dr. Chetan Bhagawat	Kannada
Fading Red	ACP Ravikumar	Kannada	Short film
Kendasampige	DCP Suryakanth	Kannada
Talvar	Ramshankar Pillai	Hindi
rowspan="6" \| 2016	Wazir	DCP	Hindi
Last Bus	Sandy \| Kannada
Airlift	George Kutty	Hindi
Kiragoorina Gayyaligalu	A Government Officer	Kannada
Ishtakamya	Vikranth	Kannada
Te3n	Kumar	Hindi
rowspan="9" \| 2017	Take Off	Rajan Menon	Malayalam
Aake	PK	Kannada
Meri Pyaari Bindu	Bindu's father	Hindi
rowspan="2" \|Solo	rowspan="2" \| Vishnu	Malayalam	rowspan="2" \|Bilingual film
Tamil
Dayavittu Gamanisi		Kannada
Aval	rowspan="2" \| Joshua	Tamil{{Cite web\|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/tamil/2017/oct/05/mani-ratnam-isnt-a-fan-of-horror-films-milind-rau-1666865.html\|title = Mani Ratnam isn't a fan of horror films: Milind Rau\| date=5 October 2017 }}	rowspan="2" \|Bilingual film
The House Next Door	Hindi
Mufti	Social worker	Kannada
rowspan="2"\|2018	Brihaspathi		Kannada
Sanju	Kamal Kishore "KK" Arora	Hindi
rowspan="7" \| 2019	The Accidental Prime Minister	M. K. Narayanan	Hindi
Thackeray	George Fernandes	Hindi
Natasaarvabhowma	Shruthi's uncle	Kannada
The Tashkent Files \| GK Ananthasuresh \|Hindi \|
rowspan="2" \| Saaho	rowspan="2" \| Shinde	Telugu	rowspan="2" \| Bilingual film
Hindi
Katha Sangama	Sathya Murthy \| Kannada
rowspan="3" \|2020 \|Shakuntala Devi \|Bishaw Mitra Mani \|Hindi \|
Soorarai Pottru	Prakash Babu \| Tamil
Yuvarathnaa	Shatrughan Salimath	Kannada
2021 \| 100 \| Sadanand \| Kannada \|
rowspan="5" \|2022 \|One Cut Two Cut \|Pruthiraj \|Kannada \|
The Kashmir Files \| Dr. Mahesh Kumar \| Hindi \|
India Lockdown \| M. Nageshwar Rao \| Hindi \|
Hope \|Vijayasimha \|Kannada \|
Head Bush \| \|Kannada \|
rowspan="4" \|2023 \|Pathaan \| Dr. Sahani \|Hindi \|
Mysore Masala: The UFO Incident \|Dr. Satyaprakash \|Kannada \|{{Cite news\|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/kannada/movies/news/a-multi-starrer-sci-fi-adventure-drama-in-the-works-in-kannada/articleshow/64698983.cms\|title=A multi-starrer sci-fi adventure drama in the works in Kannada - Times of India\|website=The Times of India\|language=en\|access-date=2019-04-06\|last1=Suresh \|first1=Sunayana }}
Pentagon \| \| Kannada \|Anthology film; segment Kamaturam Na Bhayam Na Lajja
Savitri \|Dr. Jayaprakash \|Kannada \|{{cite web \| url=https://www.ottplay.com/review/savitri-movie-review-vijay-raghavendras-psychological-thriller-is-bland-and-has-no-scares/61ed84b17c905 \| title=Savitri movie review: Vijay Raghavendra's psychological thriller is bland }}
rowspan="5" \|2024 \|O2 \|Dr. Mrutyunjay \|Kannada \|
The Judgement \| \|Kannada \|{{Cite web \|last=Moviekoop \|title=The Judgement Movie {{!}} Cast, Release Date, Trailer, Posters, Reviews, News, Photos and Videos \|url=https://moviekoop.com/Movie/Details/The-Judgement/57319 \|access-date=2024-01-28 \|website=Moviekoop \|language=en}}
Sarfira \| \|Hindi \| {{cite web \|title=Sarfira Movie (2024): Cast, Trailer, OTT, Songs, Release Date {{!}} सरफिरा {{!}} Exclusive 2024 - Gheun Taak \|url=https://gheuntaak.in/sarfira-movie/ \|website=Gheun Taak \|access-date=6 July 2024 \|date=6 July 2024}}
My Hero \| \|Kannada \|{{cite news \|last1=Sharadhaa \|first1=A. \|title=My Hero Movie Review: A tribute to the human spirit beyond traditional Kannada Cinema \|url=https://www.cinemaexpress.com/kannada/review/2024/Aug/31/my-hero-movie-review-a-tribute-to-the-human-spirit-beyond-traditional-kannada-cinema \|work=Cinema Express \|date=12 August 2024 \|language=en}}
Baby John \|DGP Yashraj Mukherjee \|Hindi \|
rowspan="2" \|2025 \|Fateh \|Aayappa \| Hindi
Thandel \| \|Telugu \|

= Television =

class = "wikitable sortable"
Year ! Name ! Role ! Language ! Network ! Notes
2018 \|Smoke \| Bhau \| Hindi \|Eros Now \|
2020 \|High \| Dr. Shridhar Roy \| Hindi \|MX Player \|
2021 \|Mumbai Diaries 26/11 \|Dr. Mani Subramaniam \|Hindi \|Amazon Prime Video \|recurring role
2022 \|Humble Politician Nograj \|Krishna Gundu Bala (KGB) \|Kannada \|Voot Select \|Main cast

class = "wikitable sortable"

Year

! Name

! Role

! Language

! Network

! Notes

2018

|Smoke

| Bhau

| Hindi

|Eros Now

2020

|High

| Dr. Shridhar Roy

| Hindi

|MX Player

2021

|Mumbai Diaries 26/11

|Dr. Mani Subramaniam

|Hindi

|Amazon Prime Video

|recurring role

2022

|Humble Politician Nograj

|Krishna Gundu Bala (KGB)

|Kannada

|Voot Select

|Main cast

= As writer and director =

Writer	Director
class="wikitable"
style="background:#B0C4DE; text-align:center;" ! rowspan="2" scope="col"\| Year ! rowspan="2" scope="col" \| Title ! scope="col" colspan="2"\| Credited as ! rowspan="2" scope="col" \| Language ! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" scope="col" \| Notes ! rowspan="2" class="unsortable" \| {{refh}}
2001	Garva	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	Kannada	Television serial	{{cite web\|title= 16 Old Kannada TV Serials Which Have Made Our Childhood Awesome and Fun-filled\|url= https://metrosaga.com/old-kannada-tv-serials/\|website= metrosaga.com\|date= 23 September 2018\|access-date= 23 September 2018\|archive-date= 30 July 2019\|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190730204833/https://metrosaga.com/old-kannada-tv-serials/\|url-status= dead}}
2003	Stumble	{{yes}}	{{yes}}	English \| Included in Doordarshan's Best of Indian Cinema series	{{cite web \|title= THE BEST of INDIAN CINEMA on DD NATIONAL 'Stumble'\|url= https://hi-in.facebook.com/DoordarshanNational/photos/sunday-night________-the-best-of-indian-cinema-_________________________________/780942801957909/ \|website= facebook.com}}
2023	Mandala: The UFO Incident	{{partial\|Screenplay}}	{{no}}	Kannada

Activism

Belawadi is one of the founding members of Citizens for Bengaluru, an active platform for people to engage with the city government to make it accountable to citizens.{{cite web |title= How Bengaluru got its pride back: The steel flyover protests gave it a robust citizen's movement |url= https://scroll.in/article/831923/how-bengaluru-got-its-pride-back-the-steel-flyover-protests-gave-it-a-robust-citizens-movement |website= scroll.in|date= 19 March 2017 |access-date=19 March 2017}} Belawadi curates ‘Rotary Avani’, an annual ecology festival in Bengaluru between 22 April, International Mother Earth Day and 5 June, World Environment Day, to create awareness about the environment, in The Five Elements – Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Sky, so that people, together with government, industry, business and citizens can participate in initiatives to improve urban ecological health.{{cite web |title= Celebrating Environment by Rotary Avani|url= http://bangaloreinternationalcentre.org/event/celebrating-environment/}}{{citation |title= I'm involved in issues that hurt us the most: Prakash Belawadi-Yourstory}}