RK Narayan Birth Anniversary: Here’s Taking Look at Screen Adaptations of His Works

Guide (1965): Vijay Anand’s Guide, starring Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman was based on the 1958 novel, The Guide, by RK Narayan. A box office success on release, it follows the life of Raju (essayed by Dev Anand) who turns from being a freelance guide to a hermit and Rosie (Waheeda Rehman) who is helped by Raju in her quest for self-identity. The film, which has a bittersweet ending, was selected as the Indian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 38th Academy Awards. However, it was not accepted as a nominee.

Mr Sampat (1952): The film by SS Vasan was based on Narayan’s 1949 novel Mr. Sampath – The Printer of Malgudi. The film is about a con artist (played by Motilal), who manipulates a theatre actress (Padmini) and a ghee merchant for his own benefits. Even though Motilal’s work as the conniving antagonist was much appreciated, the film failed to perform well in the box office.

Banker Margayya (1983): Based on Narayan’s novel The Financial Expert, the TS Nagabharana directorial starred Lokesh in the lead role. The film received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada in 1984. Lokesh was awarded the Best Actor at the 1983-84 Karnataka State Film Awards for his portrayal. The film is based in Malgudi, a fictive town created by Naryana. Lokesh plays the role of Margayya, a moneylender whose life takes a turn for the worse when his account books are thrown away by his son.

Malgudi Days: The television series that started in 1986 was based on the short story collection of the same name by RK Narayan that was published in 1943. Directed by Shankar Nag, the sketch artist for the series was RK Narayan’s younger brother RK Laxman. Two of Narayan’s novels which featured in the series were Swami and Friends as well as The Vendor of Sweets.