His popular dialogue from Thithi, ‘En nin problemmu’ (What is your problem’ is still remembered by fans.
Bengaluru: Channegowda, known for his iconic role of Gadappa in the Kannada movie Thithi (2015), died of age-related ailments on Wednesday. He was 79.
Channegowda hailed from Nodekoppalu village in Mandya district.
“His personality was exactly like how he was portrayed as Gadappa in Thithi. I have seen him since my childhood. He had an eccentric character and lived a simple life. And no one in the village donned a beard like him,” Ere Gowda, writer of ‘the film, and who also Channegowda’s nephew, told DH.
His popular dialogue from Thithi, ‘En nin problemmu’ ('What is your problem?’) is still remembered by fans. Channegowda then went on to act in multiple movies including Tharle Village (2016), En Nin Problemmu (2017), and Halli Panchayathi (2017).
“The shimmer in his eyes, the depth of his smile, the spirit in his steps, the beauty of his essence; he was a man who played such an important and enriching role in my life, a man who inspired me and I looked up to ever since the first day I met him… We will love and celebrate you always (sic),” director of Thithi Raam Reddy wrote on Instagram.
Thithi, which had a cast of non-actors, won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada for 2015.
It was selected at multiple film festivals across the world, including the 68th edition of Locarno International Film Festival, where it won the Golden Leopard in the 'Filmmakers of the Present' category.