Mangalore: Following a brief illness, popular Tulu playwright, lyricist and theatreperson Achyuta Kallapu (64) passed away in a private hospital here on Feb 20.
His foray into the Tulu theatre world was as a child actor. Blossoming into a fine actor, he began playing female roles at a time when women performing on the stage was considered a sin. He also took to writing lyrics, churning out hundreds of Tulu songs based on popular and catchy Hindi tunes. A number of cassettes and CDs of such songs have been brought out.
Kallapu was a pioneer in making short movies. He has also served as associate director in movies like Ratre Pagel, Badk-da Bile, September 8 and others. As a skilled actor, his performance in stage-plays like Bale Cha Parka, Eeer Doora and others will be remembered for long.
He was instrumental in the founding of Tulu Theatre Artistes’ Union and served as its honorary president for many years.
His death has been condoled by former MLA Yogish Bhat, T V Srinivas of Chitra Bharati, film-maker Richard Castelino, Konkani Sahitya Academy’s former president and theatreperson Kasaragod Chinna, Tulu theatre and film artistes Naveen D Padil, Kishore D Shetty, Tamma Lakshmana, Tulu Academy former president Seetaram Kulal, music director Charan Kumar and many others.
