Suman Nagarkar: All my roles created an impact

From a tough role in ‘Nishkarsha’ to acting in ‘Babru’, the first Kannada film to be fully filmed in the US, the actor relives the journey

The ‘Beladingala Baale’ of the Kannada film industry, Suman Nagarkar, forayed into cinema by chance and not by choice.

Perhaps, she is one rare actor in the industry to have played a heroine despite barely appearing on screen, in the runaway hit ‘Beladingala Baale’ (1995), based on Yandamoori Veerendranath’s novel.

Suman’s family was never into films or theatre. Her father N M Ramachandra Murthy hailed from Shivamogga and her mother Rathna Murthy was from Sringeri.

“That way, I am a Malanad girl,” she says. Murthy moved to Bengaluru years ago and was employed in Vidhana Soudha. The family stayed in Basavanagudi.

The actor says, “I am a typical south Bengaluru girl from Gandhi Bazaar, Basavanagudi. Dose is my favourite food and Gandhi Bazaar is my go-to place for just about everything.”

She completed her primary education at Mahila Seva Samaja school and later attended National High School. She obtained a BSc degree from National College.

While in school, she was associated with Prabhath Kalavidaru, a theatre group founded in 1930.

“I staged many dance dramas those days. My association with the group helped the actor in me. I also used to sing light and film music at competitions across schools and colleges. Considering the advice of my elders, I trained under Pandit Sheshadri Gavai in Hindustani music,” she says. During her college days, she was associated with All India Radio. Her performances in AIR drew attention, setting a stage for a new journey.

“I applied when Doordarshan conducted an audition. I wasn’t serious about it and didn’t expect a callback. However, I got selected and participated in two dramas,” she says.

T N Narasimhan, who served as writer-director for plays for Doordarshan, recognised her talent. He recommended her for the film ‘Kalyana Mantapa’ (1991), her maiden film. She donned the role of Raghavendra Rajkumar’s sister.

“I also acted in teleserials as writer Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar encouraged me to act,” she says.

She entered Kannada films without any experience or a godfather. Filmmaker Sunil Kumar Desai was in search of a girl for ‘Beladingala Baale’.

After looking for Suman at her home and college, he spotted her at a nearby bus stand. “He asked me if I was ready to act in ‘Beladingala Baale’. Since I had read the novel, I accepted the role,” she recalls.

Later, Desai cast her in a challenging role in ‘Nishkarsha’ (1993). It was difficult for a typical middle-class girl to accept such a bold role. Many advised her against it as she would be restricted to similar roles. Even her parents were apprehensive. However, she accepted the role.

The power of a girl taking revenge was one of the highlights of the film and she did extremely well, gaining fame and accolades with it.

“Even today, I don’t have roles matching the one I did in ‘Nishkarsha’,” says Suman Nagarakar, who is extremely choosy in selecting films.

She points out, “All the roles that I have done are different. Though the number of films I’ve acted in is less, the roles I handled created an impact.”

Suman donned a negative role in ‘Ammavra Ganda’ (1997), and acted in ‘Hoomale’ (1998), ‘Mungarina Minchu’ (1997), and ‘Sri Krishna Leela’ (2001).

She discovered her soulmate in a family friend Gurudev Nagaraja, a software engineer settled in the US, and flew to California after the wedding.

Move to USA

She was away from the film industry for 12 years. When she visited India, she was part of a TV show ‘Saroja Apartments’, directed by cameraman G S Bhaskar and starring Arun Sagar. While in the US, she did a course in filmmaking and graphic design at the San Francisco State University. She also interned at a local TV station, News10, in Sacramento.

She did turnkey graphic design projects and taught Hindustani music to children of Indian origin there. Suman actively organised events for local Kannada Sangha in Sacramento, California.

Veteran filmmaker Nagathihalli Chandrashekhar stayed at her house while writing for his film ‘Ishtakamya’ (2016). He requested her to do a role and she accepted it, making a comeback.

The couple launched Suman Nagarkar Productions. She acted in Sujay Ramaiah’s ‘Babru’ (2019), the first Kannada film to be fully filmed in the US. She appeared in the Hindi web series ‘Lockdown Diaries’.

Suman is a fitness enthusiast and a marathon runner. She has run close to 100 half and 30 full marathons.