Veteran actor and playwright Girish Karnad is no more. Aged 81, he suffered multiple-organ failure and was declared dead in his Bangalore hom on Monday morning. A Jnanpith Awardee, he has often been rewarded for his work on the literature, playwright and movie front.
Girish Karnad has worked in some notable films, and the one that remains fresh in people's minds is Tiger Zinda Hai. Karnad was part of Kabir Khan's Ek Tha Tiger as well. He played the role of Salman Khan's boss named Shenoy, who took care of Tiger and was the reason Tiger recieved his name.
Director Ali Abbas Zafar, who helmed Tiger Zinda Hai, is currently working on the script of Tiger 3. In an interview to Firstpost, he revealed that Girish Karnad was going to be part of the third installment of the franchise too. "I would say that he was a very important part of the Tiger franchise and we were looking forward to working with him again. Salman (Khan) also had a huge connect with him. We are standing with the family and we hope that his soul rests in a better place," mentioned the director.
Ali went on to narrate his experience working with Karnad. He said, "My conversation with him would be about everything — from literature to life. And because he was a writer himself, he used to speak a lot about writing. When he read the script of Tiger, I told him that I should narrate it to him. But he said, 'No, no, I want to read it because when you read it, you understand much better and there's a lot of clarity'. What I clearly remember is that he told me, 'Ali, what is there on paper is gold, so try to bring out your best while writing.'"
Ali even took to Twitter to offer his condolence to the legend. "Rest in peace sir #GirishKarnad , man with a golden heart and fountain of knowledge RIP," wrote the director who is currently basking in the success of his latest release Bharat, which also features Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif in lead roles.
See his post here:
"It is a great loss, not only to us but to the entire film industry and the entire nation. He was a thorough gentleman, so knowledgeable — writer, director, actor and a very warm person. For me, it is a personal loss because I have had so many great conversations with him during the making of Tiger Zinda Hai. He was the guiding force. Whenever I shared some material with him, I would have some great conversations. He was actually a scholar of literature, cinema. We have very few people like him in the industry," concluded Ali.
