Kannada theatre giant and senior actor Bhargavi Narayan passed away at her residence in Jayanagar here on Monday. She was 84 and left behind two sons and as many daughters.
Her son Prakash Belawadi, a seasoned actor and theatre personality, told DH that Bhargavi was suffering from age-related issues from the last two years. "She had suffered a pelvis fracture. She collapsed in the evening and appeared weak. She spoke with us for a while and breathed her last around 7:30 pm," he said.
Bhargavi met her husband Belavadi Nanjundaiah Narayana -- popularly known as Makeup Nani -- during her theatre days in college. Along with Nani, who was a famous makeup artist, she built her house 'Green House' in Jayanagar 50 years ago. Her other two children are Pradeep and Sujatha. Nani had passed away in 2003 at 75.
Actor Samyukta Hornad is her granddaughter. "My grandma...Ajji Bhajji...has passed on, today at 7:30 pm," she said on Twitter.
Apart from acting in more than 600 plays, she was a well-known face in Kannada cinema. Bhargavi featured in hits such as the Dr Rajkumar-starrer 'Eradu Kanasu' (1974), Mani Ratnam's 'Pallavi Anu Pallavi' (1983), 'Baa Nalle Madhuchandrake' (1993), and Dr Vishnuvardhan's 'Professor Huchuraya', for which she won the State Award for the Best Supporting actor in 1974-75. She also won the Rajyotsava Award in 2019.
In her small screen career, she was part of hit serials such as 'Manthana' and 'Mukta'.
A post graduate in English literature, Bhargavi is the author of 'Naa Kanda Nammavaru'. She also wrote an autobiography titled 'Nanu Bhargavi' (2012), which won the Sahitya Academy Award. A dynamic personality, she balanced theatre and cinema even while being employed at the Employees' State Insurance Corporation. Bhargavi was also the member of the Karnataka Nataka Academy.
Prakash informed that her body would be donated to St John's Hospital as per her wish. Her eyes would be donated to Nethradhama Samsthe. Prakash said her body would be donated after the arrival of her daughter Sujatha from Mumbai.
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