Aniruddha Jatkar

Aniruddha Jatkar
File:Aniruddha Jatkar latest picture.jpg
Born	(1974-02-16) 16 February 1974 Mumbai, Maharastra, India
Other names	Anirudh
Alma mater	L. S. Raheja School of Architecture
Occupation(s)	Actor, script writer, director, singer, executive director, social entrepreneur
Spouse	Keerthi
Relatives	Vishnuvardhan (Father-in-law) Bharathi Vishnuvardhan

Aniruddha Jatkar (also known as Anirudh) is an actor, singer, writer and director in the Indian theatre and film industry and social activist and entrepreneur. Born on 16 February 1974, he is the son-in-law of the legendary Kannada film actors Dr. Vishnuvardhana and Padma Shri awardee Dr. Bharathi Vishnuvardhan. Renowned primarily for his work in Kannada films, Aniruddha’s career pans across Kannada, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu and Tamil films. He is also a television artist known for his role in the Kannada TV series – Jothe Jotheyali. 

Apart from working in the mainstream cinema, Aniruddha has also conceptualized, researched, written, anchored and directed a documentary film and six short-films. He is also the playback singer for a few Kannada film songs and has given numerous stage-performances as a singer.

Aniruddha has also been a significant part of various social and environmental welfare initiatives.

Apart from his career in the entertainment industry, Anirudh is also an Interior Designer. He also serves as the Executive Director of Vibha Charitable Trust and the Trustee of Vishnuvardhan Pratishtana Trust (Government Trust for the construction of the proposed Dr. Vishnuvardhana memorial at Mysore).

His work to promote a clean, green, beautiful and better society led him to create the slogan "swacchathegaaagi naanu saha-bhaagi” ('ಸ್ವಚ್ಛತೆಗಾಗಿ ನಾನೂ ಸಹ-ಭಾಗಿ’) which marked the beginning of an on-going campaign where common citizens, public leaders, celebrities and influencers joined hands to make their respective localities and cities better in terms of cleanliness.

File:Aniruddha Jatkar awards and achievements.jpg

As the executive director of Vibha Charitable Trust, he has also organized blood donation camps, free health camps and other health-related initiatives in collaboration with various social clubs and voluntary organisations to provide necessary healthcare to the needy.

Anirudh is also a record-setter and a documentary film-maker. He holds a total of 20 records till date including records in India Book of Records, Asia Book of Records and Kalam's World Records for releasing six short films in different genres, putting forth a social message without the use of dialogues, on the same day and also for conceptualizing, researching, scripting, anchoring and directing the longest documentary on a living legendary actress in India. He conceptualized the movie 'Baale Bangara' which is based on the life of veteran Indian actress, Padma Shri awardee Dr. Bharathi Vishnuvardhan and has also involved himself in the research, script and narration aspects of the film which is set to release on streaming platforms very soon.

He created the Sahasa Simha comic series which followed the adventures of Detective Sahasa Simha, a character based upon Sahasa Simha Dr. Vishnuvardhan. This was further developed by the comic publishing house Amar Chithra Katha and presently has a total of three books which have been released.

Aniruddha Jatkar has also written several articles about a diverse range of topics which have been published in newspapers like Deccan Herald.

Career

Feature films

Kannada

Aniruddha Jatkar’s movie career began in 2001 with his debut in Chitte, a Kannada film directed by Dinesh Babu. He bagged popularity for his roles in Tuntata (2002) directed by Indrajit Lankesh and Neenello Nanalle (2006) under Dinesh Babu’s direction. Anirudh’s film journey as the main lead also includes Panchali  (2003), Good Luck (2006), Tamashegagi (2007), Nali Naliyutha (2007), Kunidu Kunidu Ba Re (2010), Ijjodu (2010), Shabari Male Yathre (2015), Kalabereke and Raja Simha (2018) being the latest addition to his filmography.

The movie Ijjodu which had Anirudh play the role of a socially aware photojournalist has been critically acclaimed for delving into the regressive rituals, practices and social stigma that go unnoticed in remote villages and rural regions.

Apart from playing the male protagonist, Aniruddha has also played second-lead and supportive roles in Sathyavan Savithri (2007) and Rama Shama Bhama (2005) directed by Ramesh Arvind, Jyestha (2004) directed by Suresh Krishna and Chitra (2001) directed by Dinesh Babu.

His 'boy next door' charisma in Sathyavan Savithri and Rama Shama Bhama was received very well by the audience and has gained him fans all across Karnataka.

Aniruddha Jatkar is also known for his cameos in Marali Manege (2017) and Abhayahasta (2018).

Other languages

Aniruddha has worked in Telugu, Hindi, Marathi films and has played the main lead in the Tamil film Mutham (2002) directed by S.A Chandrashekhar. He also played the second lead in the Telugu movie Ayyappa Darshanam (2015) under the direction of Shri. Shanthkumar and was seen in a cameo appearance in the Hindi movie Dor (2006) directed by Nagesh Kuknoor. He is the second lead of the Marathi movie Saam Daam Dand Bhed with Neelima Lonari as the director.

Short films

Short films with social messages have been Aniruddha’s forte. From conceptualization to script-writing and direction, he has been the creative mind behind 6 short films that were released on 18 September 2018 in the memory of late actor Vishnuvardhan’s birth anniversary. All six of the movies released dealt with social issues and possess an underlying social message.

Smoke ( Dhooma/ ಧೂಮ) in Kannada, Save (or Ulisi/ ಉಳಿಸಿ in Kannada), Vaishnav Jan To,  Water (or Neeru/ ನೀರು in Kannada), Candlelight ( ಕ್ಯಾಂಡಲ್ ಲೈಟ್, Shantam Papam  (or Calm the wicked action). The film Candlelight and Shantam Papam released in both English and Kannada languages. All 6 movies depicted a social issue and were widespread across different genres, Smoke being the first of the short films which dealt with the adverse effects of smoking cigarettes. The films were made without dialogues or any form of speech adding to the creative factor of it.

Aniruddha Jatkar’s venture into short films was marked by a plethora of records set in India Book of Records, Asia Book of Records and in Kalam’s World Records for releasing the most number of short films across different genres, upon social issues and without dialogues on the same day.

Documentary films

Anirudh has directed a documentary based on the life of veteran Indian actress, Padma Shri awardee Dr. Bharathi Vishnuvardhan. Aiming to provide an insight into the personality, way of life and ideals of Bharathi Vishnuvardhan, he has worked on the concept, research, script and narration of this documentary titled Baale Bangara. This venture has also been a record-setter, garnering records in India Book of Records, Asia Book of Records and in Kalam’s World Records.

Telefilms

Aniruddha Jatkar has also acted as the protagonist in the telefilm Bandhavya for the Films Division of India.

Television

Aniruddha is the male protagonist of the popular Kannada serial Jothe Jotheyali which is on air currently, has garnered a fan-base across the country and overseas. Jothe Jotheyali on Zee Kannada became the show with the highest TRP in its opening week and is one of the most watched show on Kannada television. The show which has completed more than 500 episodes also has 2.75 crore+ views on YouTube for its title song.

Theatre

Anirudh has made his mark in theatre through a number of Kannada, English, Marathi and Hindi plays. He has been the main lead in Kannada plays namely Barrister directed by Balaji Manohar (Kannada Version), Sevanthi Prasanga directed by Vaishali Kasarvalli, Parihara directed by Walter D’souza, Suratnagarad Shresthiyu directed by Jayateerth Joshi, Spartacus directed by Walter D’souza Akkarmashi directed by C. Basavalingaih, Shokachakra directed by Dhananjay Kulkarni, Kattale Belaku directed Bandu Kulkarni, Dr. Neevu kuda directed by Bandu Kulkarni, Hosa Sandsar directed Gajanan and Bourgeois gentleman directed by Nataraj Yenagi.

He played the main lead in English plays – Hayavadana directed by N. Ravikumar, Jokumaraswami directed by N. Ravikumar and Groom for My Sister directed by R. Nagesh. In Marathi, he played the main lead in Namana Natwara directed by Arundhati Jatkar, Vata directed by Jyothi Sathe, Tee Phularani directed Suresh Udas.

Man hi man dalla nache written by T.N. Seetharam and Mumbai ke Kauvve directed by Udaykumar are the Hindi plays in which Aniruddha has been the main lead.

Besides acting, he has also produced a play named Double vision written by Eric Chapel.

Music

Aniruddha Jatkar is passionate about singing and has given multiple stage performances throughout his life. He has also lent his voice as a playback singer for the following Kannada film songs:

·      Gautham – music by Guru Kiran

·      Beldingalagi Ba – music by Guru Kiran

·      Kunidu Kunidu Ba Re – music by Kalyan

Advertisements

Anirudh has been the face of many brands and is seen in various advertisements in both film and print media. These brands, products and services which have Aniruddha Jatkar in their advertisements include V-Star, Ashirvad gold, Succeed App, Mirakool oil, Margadarshi, Titan watches, Spice telecom, Green label tea, Amway cookware, Ashok Leyland, Canara Bank, Ukkinadakas  Ayurvedic pain relief pills, Kanva shirts and more.

Sahasa Simha Comic series

Sahasa Simha Comic series is a creative and one of a kind comic in South India which revolves around Detective Sahasa Simha who solves mysteries with the help of his grandchildren and fights stemmed through social issues. The protagonist of the comic is based on the star Dr. Vishnuvardhan (Sahasa Simha was a title he was honoured with) whereas the grandchildren’s characters are based upon the couple’s real-life grandkids Jyestavardhan and Shloka.

The idea for this comic was conceptualized by Anirudh himself and was further developed by the esteemed comic publishing company Amar Chithra Katha.

Three books or comic issues have been released under the Detective Sahasa Simha comic series, at present, which are:

·       Detective Sahasa Simha: The Case of the Reluctant Pickpocket /ಪತ್ತೆದಾರ ಸಾಹಸಸಿಂಹ: ಒಲ್ಲದ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ಜೇಬುಗಳ್ಳನ ಪ್ರಕರಣ 

·       Detective Sahasa Simha: The Jungle Adventure / ಪತ್ತೆದಾರ ಸಾಹಸಸಿಂಹ: ಅರಣ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಹಸ

·       Detective Sahasa Simha: The Case of the Disappearing Books / ಪತ್ತೆದಾರ ಸಾಹಸಸಿಂಹ: ಕಣ್ಮರೆಯಾಗುವ ಪುಸ್ತಕಗಳ ಪ್ರಕರಣ

Film-related initiatives

As the Executive Director of Vibha Charitable Trust, Aniruddha has organized plenty of events and programmes promoting the spirit of Indian cinema and filmmaking. Under his guidance, Vibha Charitable Trust has organized Film Festivals across 30 districts of Karnataka, State-level Short Movie competition, Short Filmmaking Workshop(a weekend course) in association with The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and various different events which include:

·      Musical Nite with S.P. Balasubrahmanyam and Guru Kiran – a tribute to Dr. Vishnuvardhana.

·      Photo exhibition capturing the journey of personal and professional life of Dr. Vishnuvardhana.

·       Memorial lecture by Padmashree Girish Kasaravalli on 100 years of Indian Cinema.

Social and philanthropic initiatives

Aniruddha Jatkar has initiated and undertaken various social activities not just as the Executive Director of Vibha Charitable Trust but also as a socially aware actor-influencer with a huge number of fans and followers across the state and country.

Healthcare

In the capacity of the Executive Director of Vibha Charitable Trust, he has organized various fund-raising activities and health camps promoting the availability and accessibility of good healthcare to the needy.

Some of his activities to promote better healthcare include:

Numerous free health camps and blood donation camps conducted in coordination and association with voluntary organizations like Rotary International, Lions Club along with hospitals such as Narayana Hridayalaya, BGS, Poornasoodha Cancer Foundation and organizations including Red Cross and Rashtrotthana.

The free health camps organised offered a range of check-ups and treatment initiatives like ECG, eye surgeries, heart surgeries, dental care, and free distribution of artificial limbs. Free medicines were also distributed to the needy.

These camps were conducted on eleven occasions with 10000+ people attending and benefitting from it.

Hridaya Geethe – A concert of Kannada film songs in association with Rotary Club of South Bangalore. This concert was a charity event aiming to raise funds for heart surgeries. 30 celebrities including famous actors, singers and music composers graced the hugely successful event. The proceeds from this event were donated to Needy Heart Foundation to cover expenses of paediatric heart surgeries i.e., heart surgeries for children in need.

Environmental awareness

Aniruddha has created environmental awareness and promoted green and clean surroundings through many of his activities. He has raised a call for change on digital platforms by posting pictures of garbage piled up in Bengaluru – the city where he lives in and in other cities as well, appealing common people, officials and leaders alike to take charge and bring in a change. Admired by many, this initiative was given a quick response by BBMP and other concerned officials who got into action immediately to have the respective locations cleaned up.

He has also made it a point to plant trees during every event or function he has attended, planting trees in various regions of Karnataka and Qatar.

Anirudh has also distributed 1000 saplings in association with Prakriti, an NGO based in Bengaluru as a symbol of working together for a greener environment.

·      On 7^th November 2020, Aniruddha posted pictures on social media of Karnataka's capital city Bengaluru, showing how littering had become a major issue. He appealed to the leaders and citizens to join hands to keep their respective wards, cities, state and country clean. The BBMP officers responded positively and cleaned up the particular sites within a couple of days. Aniruddha then felicitated the marshals, officers and pourkarmikas for their prompt response . This led to Aniruddha in dialogue with the BBMP special commissioner, Solid Waste Management resulting in his entire team lead a campaign for a clean city.

·      Thus started a new and innovative campaign for which a slogan ‘ಸ್ವಚ್ಛತೆಗಾಗಿ ನಾನೂ ಸಹ ಭಾಗಿ’ (I am too responsible for cleanliness) was coined to declare support to the campaign. After becoming viral among netizens, it is currently an ongoing internet campaign for cleaner and better surroundings. Many celebrities, youngsters and children are taking part in the campaign by sending their respective videos showing support by saying the slogan. A number of citizens have even started approaching the local offices with their requests and offering support as a result of this campaign. The campaign is currently going strong with a number of videos from Bengaluru and other cities of Karnataka along with smaller towns and villages getting shared on Facebook. Almost all the posts received favourable responses from the respective authorities who came forward and took positive corrective measures immediately.

·      The ‘ಸ್ವಚ್ಛತೆಗಾಗಿ ನಾನೂ ಸಹ ಭಾಗಿ’ campaign slowly widened its scope when a video was made on ‘Kuppareddy lake’ situated on Kanakpura road, Bengaluru. The grill surrounding the lake was completely covered with creepers, the result of which the beautiful and vast lake was not visible from the main road. Volunteers from voluntary organisations namely Rotaract and R.S.S took initiative of cleaning and beautifying the place. The group further plans to beautify the lake.

·      Another active campaign was born when the pictures of trees which are wired, cabled, stapled, lit or pasted with posters were posted on social media and requests were made to the authorities, representatives and locals to free those trees from mal-treatment.

·      Similarly, issues surrounding the transformers around the city were raised through social media posts. In one such post, immediate action had to be taken as the photo depicted an impending danger. The authorities after reading the post rushed to the spot and got into action immediately, resolving the issue. This led to the beginning of a campaign ‘ಸುರಕ್ಷತೆಗಾಗಿ ನಾನೂ ಸಹ ಭಾಗಿ’ (I am too responsible for safety and security).

·    The original campaign also branches out, giving rise to two more social innovation initiatives namely ‘ಸೌಂದರ್ಯ ಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ನಾನೂ ಸಹ ಭಾಗಿ’ (I am too responsible for the beautification of my area)  and ‘ಹಸಿರುಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ನಾನೂ ಸಹ ಭಾಗಿ’ (I am too responsible for the greenery). These two initiatives focus on beautification and maintaining the greenery of of the environment respectively. 'Cleanliness and natural greenery' are two major goals these campaigns.

·      As a follow-up to the requests to the Government about hazardous nature of the neglected hanging wires and cables as well as an appeal to maintaining cleanliness, Aniruddha also sent a request to the PMO to have separate ministries for Cleanliness, Greenery, Beautification, Safety and Security respectively.

Relief activities

Aniruddha has been an active participant and initiator of fund-raising activities for North Karnataka Flood Relief and Nepal Earthquake Relief.

Apart from these, Aniruddha Jatkar encouraged NGOs to showcase their social work and provided a platform for various NGOs working to eradicate different issues to share their work and build a connect with people making it easier to collect donations and share for help. Through this, he motivated people to collect grains as donations to provide food for HIV AIDS affected families and under-privileged children.

Achievements and records

Records

Aniruddha released short films across different genres, addressing different social issues on the same day. Another speciality of these short films is that they are completely devoid of dialogues. The release of Smoke / ಧೂಮ, Save/ ಉಳಿಸಿ, Vaishnav Jan To,  Water / ನೀರು, Candlelight/ ಕ್ಯಾಂಡಲ್ ಲೈಟ್, Shantam Papam / Calm the wicked action, made it possible for Aniruddha to register multiple records in India Book of Records, Asia Book of Records, and in Kalam's World Records.

He also bagged records for his documentary movie – 'Baale Bangara'. 'Baale Bangara' captures the life of Padmashree Awardee 'Dr. Bharathi Vishnuvardhan'.

Details

1. Kalam's Book of World Records – Received five records and was presented with Kalam's Golden Award for bagging five records.

2. Asia Book of Records – Received four records and is titled 'Grand Master' for registering 4 records.

3. India Book of Records – Received five records and was chosen  among the top 100 Record Holders for the year 2019.

4. Longest documentary on a living legendary actress in India – Record set in India Book of Records, Asia Book of Records and Kalam's World Records in 2021.

Common citations including all categories for all short films

1) The record for the most number of short films released on the same day is 6 and was achieved by writer and director Aniruddha Jatkar of Keerthi Innovations, Bengaluru, Karnataka on 18 September 2018.

2) The record for the most number of short films on social issues released on the same day is 6 and was achieved by writer and director Aniruddha Jatkar of Keerthi Innovations, Bengaluru, Karnataka on 18 September 2018.

3) The record for the most number of short films without dialogues released on the same day is 6 and was achieved by writer and director Aniruddha Jatkar of Keerthi Innovations, Bengaluru, Karnataka on 18 September 2018.

4) The record for the most number of short films in different genres released on the same day is 6 and was achieved by writer and director Aniruddha Jatkar of Keerthi Innovations, Bengaluru, Karnataka on 18 September 2018.

Citation for the fifth record in India Book of Records

Maximum Records registered by a director for short films

The maximum records registered by a director for his 6 short films is 4 and the record was set by writer and director Aniruddha Jatkar of Keerthi Innovations, Bengaluru. The 6 short films were released on the same day i.e., on 18 September 2018. These were based on social issues, without any dialogues and picturized in different genres.

Common Citation for the records set with Baale Bangara

Longest documentary on a living legendary actress in India

Aniruddha Harshavardhan Jatkar (born on 16 February 1974) of Karnataka, India, set a record for conceptualizing, researching, scripting, anchoring and directing the longest documentary on a living legendary actress in India. 'Baale Bangara', the documentary produced by Keerthi Innovations in Kannada with English Subtitles (running time – 141.49 minutes) captures the life of Padmashree Awardee 'Dr. Bharathi Vishnuvardhan'.

This record has been set in all the three aforementioned books of records.

Awards and honours

• 'Best Actor' for the Marathi one-act play 'Namana Natavara'

• 'Dr. Vishnu Kala Jeevi Prshashti'

• 'Kala Kirana Prashathi'

• 'Yuvaraja Prashasthi'

• 'Dasara Shree Prashathi'

• 'Best film actor' award by Karnataka Chitra Rasikara Sangha

• 'Turabiya award' for social work

• 'Dr.Rajkumar Sadbhavana Prashasti'

• 'Kannada Rajyotstava Prashasti' from the newspapers' association

• Amantrana Award

• 'Best director (Short Film)’ Award by Karnataka Chitra Rasikara Sangha

• 'Kannada Ratna' Prashasti by Sri. Nimishamba Dance Promoters ® ,

Mysore

• V.J. International Awards 2019 for 'Best Short Film Maker'

• Hindustan Gagan Gaurav Award 2019 for 'Excellency in Administration,

Environment, Education, Social work and Art' in recognition of his

selfless service to the society.

• Karnataka Kala Bhushana Prashasti 2020

• Zee Kannada Award for 'Best Actor in the lead role (male)’ 2020

• Zee Kannada Award for 'Best Jodi' 2020

• Zee Kannada Award for 'Best Actor in the lead role (male)’ 2021

• Zee Kannada Award for 'Best Jodi' 2021

• Flamingo Award for 'Best Actor'

• Aaryabhata International Award - 2022

• Chittara Star Award - 2022

• Rotary Friend of Environment Award by Rotary International District 3190

Additional titles

• Sensational Star

• Yuva Samraat

• Kala Kirana

• Young Lion

• Yuva Kesari

Filmography

In lead roles

Year	Title	Role	Language	Notes
2001	Chitte		Kannada
2002	Thuntata		Kannada
2002	Mutham		Tamil	Credited as Ajayan
2003	Panchali		Kannada
2006	Good Luck		Kannada
2006	Neenello Naanalle		Kannada
2007	Tamashegagi		Kannada
2007	Nali Naliyuth		Kannada
2010	Kunidu Kunidu Ba Re		Kannada
2010	Ijjodu		Kannada	Produced by Reliance Entertainment
2014	Saam Daam Dand Bhedh		Marathi
2015	Shabari Male Yatre		Kannada	Bilingual
2017	Kalaberake		Kannada
2018	Raja Simha		Kannada

Supporting performances

Year	Title	Role	Language	Notes
2001	Chithra		Kannada
2004	Jyeshtha		Kannada
2005	Rama Shama Bhama		Kannada	cameo appearance
2006	Dor		Hindi	Guest Appearance
2007	Sathyavan Savithri		Kannada
2017	Marali Manege		Kannada	Guest Appearance
2018	Abhayhasta		Kannada	Guest Appearance

Television

Show	Year	Channel	Notes
Daddy No.1	2009	Zee Kannada	Host
Jothe Jotheyali	2019	Zee Kannada	Lead role

References

• "Aniruddha Jatkar wins best actor award and dedicates it to his fans". Time of India. 2 November 2020.

External links

• Jatkar on chiloka.com
• Jatkar on filmibeat.com