Veteran Kannada actor Anant Nag has been selected as the recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest recognition for contribution to cinema. The announcement was made by the Press Information Bureau on Wednesday, September 16. The award will be presented to Nag at the 72nd National Film Awards ceremony at Kevadia, Gujarat, on September 22.Anant Nag becomes the second Kannada actor to receive the honour after Dr Rajkumar, who was conferred the award in 1995.Born Anant Nagarkatte in 1948, Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka, into a Konkani-speaking Saraswat Brahmin family, Anant spent his early childhood in his hometown before coming to Mumbai for further studies at teh age of 11. It was in Mumbai that he was drawn to theatre. He went on to perform in Kannada, Konkani and Marathi plays, building a theatrical foundation that would inform every film performance that followed.Also Read: Kannada actor Anant Nag reveals he chose acting due to academic struggles; thanks audiences for his 50-year careerHe made his feature film debut in 1973 with two films that introduced him simultaneously to two very different audiences: PV Nanjaraj Urs’s Kannada film Sankalpa, which won seven awards at the Karnataka State Film Awards, and Shyam Benegal’s Ankur, one of the landmark films of India’s parallel cinema movement that won three National Film Awards.Over the next five decades, Nag appeared in over 300 films across Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Malayalam and English. His commercially successful Kannada films include Bayalu Daari, Kanneshwara Rama, Naa Ninna Bidalaare, Chandanada Gombe, Benkiya Bale, Hendthige Helbedi, Ganeshana Maduve, Gowri Ganesha and Mungaru Male. In recent years, he appeared in Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu, where his portrayal of an Alzheimer’s patient earned widespread critical acclaim. He also appeared in the KGF franchise, Raajakumara, and Gaalipata 2.His Hindi filmography, while smaller, includes significant titles such as Shyam Benegal’s Ankur, Manthan and Bhumika, as well as Govind Nihalani’s Kalyug. He also worked in parallel cinema across other languages, building a reputation as an actor equally comfortable in commercial and art-house cinema.Story continues below this ad Actor Anant Nag. (Photo: Express Archives)No account of Anant Nag’s career is complete without mentioning his younger brother, the late Shankar Nag, who was one of Kannada cinema’s most gifted actors and directors before his death in a road accident in 1990, at the age of 35. The two brothers were among the most beloved duos in Kannada cinema during the 1970s and 1980s, appearing together in multiple films including Janma Janmada Anubandha, Nodi Swamy Navirodu Hige and Accident.Their most enduring collaboration was Malgudi Days, the Doordarshan television series based on RK Narayan’s short stories of the same name, directed by Shankar Nag. Anant Nag appeared in 13 episodes of the series, which became one of Indian television’s most cherished shows. It was originally produced in Kannada before being dubbed and broadcast in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam, giving Anant Nag a pan-Indian recognition that his Kannada films alone might not have provided.Shankar Nag’s death at 35 in a road accident that shocked the entire state of Karnataka, was one of the most devastating losses in Kannada cinema history. Anant Nag, who was 42 at the time, was deeply affected by the loss and reportedly took nearly a decade to come to terms with it. He considered Shankar not just a brother but almost a surrogate son. Shankar’s wife, Arundhati Nag, went on to build Ranga Shankara, one of India’s premier theatre venues in Bangalore, as a tribute to her husband’s love for the performing arts.The parallel cinema yearsWhat distinguishes Anant Nag from many of his Kannada contemporaries is the depth of his work in India’s parallel cinema movement. His collaborations with Shyam Benegal, Girish Kasaravalli and GV Iyer placed him alongside actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and Om Puri as one of the faces of a movement that challenged mainstream Indian cinema’s conventions.Story continues below this ad Anant Nag with his wife Gayatri in his home production Gowri. (Photo: Express Archives)GV Iyer’s Hamsa Geethe, in particular, was a turning point. The critically acclaimed Kannada film, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada, established Nag as an actor of serious dramatic range. His partnership with actress Lakshmi, which followed Hamsa Geethe, produced over 25 films together and made them one of the most popular on-screen pairs in Kannada cinema history.Despite the reigning presence of Dr Rajkumar, who dominated Kannada cinema for decades, Anant Nag carved out his own space without ever being seen as a competitor or a substitute. He occupied a different lane, one that connected commercial audiences with art-house sensibilities, and he did it for five decades without ever leaving Kannada cinema for the larger Hindi market, despite having the talent and the credentials to do so.ALSO READ | Amitabh Bachchan recalls when Kannada star Dr Rajkumar rolled on temple floor to pray for his life after Coolie accidentThe new generation connectionIn the 2010s and 2020s, Anant Nag experienced something rare for an actor of his generation: a second wave of popularity driven by new filmmakers. Young Kannada directors, recognising his ability to bring gravitas and emotional depth to supporting roles, cast him in films that introduced him to an entirely new audience.Story continues below this adHis role as Anand Ingalagi in Prashanth Neel’s KGF: Chapter 1 and KGF: Chapter 2 brought him before a pan-India audience once again, this time as a narrator figure in one of Indian cinema’s biggest franchises. His performance in Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu, a delicate, emotionally complex portrayal of a father with Alzheimer’s, was praised as one of the finest performances in Kannada cinema that decade. He also appeared in Sarkari Hi. Pra. Shaale, Kasaragodu, Koduge: Ramanna Rai, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada.Over his career, Nag has received six Filmfare Awards South, five Karnataka State Film Awards for Best Actor, and the Rajyotsava Award in 2007. His parallel cinema work and his television contributions have been recognised across multiple forums. The Padma Bhushan in 2025 and now the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2026 represent the culmination of a career that began in a Mumbai theatre in the late 1960s and has continued without interruption for over half a century.Annat Nag’s marriage with GayatriAnant Nag married actress Gayatri in 1987. They met during the filming of Auto Raja and fell in love on set. After their marriage, Gayatri chose to step away from acting.Before his marriage to Gayatri, Anant Nag was reportedly in a relationship with actress Priya Tendulkar, daughter of legendary Marathi playwright Vijay Tendulkar. The two had worked together in Shyam Benegal’s Ankur and the Kannada film Minchina Ota. The relationship ended before reaching the altar.Story continues below this adAt 78, with over 300 films behind him, Anant Nag is being honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Award. 31 years after Dr Rajkumar made the same walk for the same industry, the honour comes home again.