Kannada director Guruprasad found dead in Bengaluru apartment, police suspect suicide

Last updated:Nov 3, 2024 2:19 PM IST

Guruprasad was a notable Kannada film director known for his satirical style and socially relevant themes.

Eddelu Manjunatha (2009) remains his most acclaimed work.

Noted Kannada film director Guru Prasad was found dead in his apartment in Bengaluru on Sunday morning at the age of 52. Police suspect he died by suicide two or three days earlier. He had been living in the Madanayakanahalli area of ​​north Bengaluru for the past eight months and his death was reported after neighbors noticed a foul smell coming from his flat.

According to sources, Guru Prasad ran into financial trouble after his last film, Ranganayaka, went bankrupt, which reportedly led to mounting debts. His struggles reportedly led him to depression. Guru Prasad, known for his hit films Mata (2006) and Eddelu Manjunatha (2009), also appeared as a judge in Kannada reality shows. He recently remarried after divorcing his first wife.

Guruprasad was a notable Kannada film director known for his satirical style and socially relevant themes. His debut film Mata (2006) received much praise for its unique storytelling. He followed it up with Eddelu Manjunatha (2009), a dark comedy that became one of his best-known works and won the Karnataka State Film Award for Best Screenplay. The film explores themes of apathy and struggle within a lower-middle-class setting, and became popular for its raw, realistic portrayal of life.

In 2013 he released Director’s Special, another film with a satirical twist, which also attracted attention for its criticism of the film industry itself. His later work, Eradane Sala (2017), presented a complex love story, showing his versatility in dealing with different genres, while maintaining his signature satirical tone. Guruprasad’s most recent film, Ranganayaka, released in 2024, unfortunately underperformed at the box office, which reportedly contributed to his financial problems.

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