Honappa Bhagavatar, also known as C. Honnappa Bhagavathar (born Honappa, 14 January 1915 – 2 October 1992, ಹೊನ್ನಪ್ಪ ಭಾಗವತರು, was an Indian theatre artist, film actor, producer, musician and singer. He was best known as a singer and as one of the pioneers of Kannada cinema. He was also active in Tamil cinema. His son Bharath Bhagavathar was also an actor who worked in Kannada films and serials.
Early life
He was born in 1915 at Chowdasandra, Nelamangala to Chikkalingappa and Kallamma. He weaved for a living. At age 5 he lost his father and grew up listening to his mother's Bhajans and music. He moved to Bangalore for work, learn classical music, accidentally he met his guru Sambandha Murthy Bhagavathar in a relative's marriage function and became his disciple for learning classical music. He first became a pupil of his relative Murthy, then a pupil of harmonium player Arunachalappa. Honappa staged a play in Salem and at the same time M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, a filmmaker, was casting his latest film Ambikapathi. Honnappa's play was a success and he was honoured with the title "Bhagavathar". From then on, Honnappa's name became Honnappa Bhagavathar.
Career
Honnappa Bhagavathar acted in many Tamil films. Based now in Bangalore, Honnappa Bhagavathar replaced M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar in the 1946 movieSri Murugan, acting alongside MGR. Both Honnappa and Jeevaratnam sang in the movie, with music scored by S. M. Subbaiah Naidu. Honnappa founded a production company named Lalithakaala Films. It produced films in Kannada and Tamil. In 1955, his film Mahakavi Kaalidasa was the first in the Kannada language. He produced Uzhavukkum Thozhilukkum Vandhanai Seivom, a Tamil-language film that was released in 1959. He made his Kannada acting debut in the movie Subadra. Honnappa is known for bringing actresses like B. Saroja Devi into the industry. In the film Valmiki, Honnappa replaced M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar as Valmiki, the sinner-turned-sage. Honnappa became a star after M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar's temporary exit, playing the lead role in many Tamil movies and later in Kannada. He played the bandit-turned-sage. In 1960, Bhagavathar started the music school "Nadabrahma Sangeetha Vidyalaya". He became a member of the Kannada Film Advisory Board and worked as a member of Karnataka Sangeeta Nruthya Academy.
