After the news of Jnanpith award winner Girish Karnad's death broke on social media, members of the film fraternity including Kamal Haasan, Shabana Azmi, Manoj Bajpayee and Madhur Bhandarkar, among many others took to Twitter to mourn the demise of the veteran playright, screenwriter, actor and director.Karnad died at his residence in Bengaluru on Monday morning. He was 81. The veteran artist is survived by his son Raghu, a writer and journalist.
Here's what the celebrities have tweeted:
Kamal Haasan: Girish Karnad, His scripts both awe and inspire me. He has left behind many inspired fans who are writers. Their works perhaps will make his loss partly bearable.
Shabana Azmi: Deeply saddened to learn about Girish Karnad. Haven't yet been able to speak with his family. Its been a friendship of 43 years and I need the privacy to mourn him. I request the media to kindly excuse me from giving quotes.
Manoj Bajpayee: Huge huge loss for the world of theatre cinema and literature! The creative world will always be indebted to him. We lost our inspiration. Girish Karnad sir.
Madhur Bhandarkar: Deeply saddened by the news of demise of Girsh Karnadji. He will be remembered for his work as a theater personality, film actor, and director. My deepest condolences to his family, friends and fans.
Sonam K. Ahuja: Rest in peace. I loved his work.
Sudhir Mishra: What the hell! This was Girish Karnad. Along with Vijay Tendulkar, Badal Sarkar and Mohan Rakesh, he was one of the great Indian playwrights. Just for his contribution to theatre he is immortal. Generations of theatre students have been formed because of his plays.
Gulshan Devaiah: A playwright, filmmaker, actor, thinker, scholar and literary giant. Goodbye good sir! And thank you Girish Karnad 1938-2019.
Prosenjit Chatterjee: Rest in peace Girish Karnad.
Rana Daggubati: RIP Girish Karnad
Shruti Haasan: May you rest in peace Girish Karnad sir. Your talent humour and sharp intellect will be missed.
Vivek Agnihotri: The creator of 'Hayvadan' and 'Utsav' is gone. Artists go but the art remains. Om Shanti Girish Karnad.
Papon: Don't see the point writing personal feelings on twitter but just couldn't stop myself to tell the world that today I again feel loss in a true sense! One actor we all loved and respected is no more Girish Karnad a person I connected at various levels. Praying for the his soul.
Divya Dutta: RIP Girish Karnad sir... One actor whose inherent goodness reflected in his eyes. The thorough gentleman. Exceptional playwright. 'Swami Ratnadeep Manthan' embedded in my childhood memories. A gem we lost today.
Kabir Bedi: Deeply saddened by the passing of playwright Girish Karnad. My biggest break in theatre was playing the title role in his 'Tughlaq', directed by Alyque Padamsee, which led me into the film industry in 1970s. One of India's great'playwrights, immortalised by his creativity. RIP.