Girish Karnad at Cornell University, 2009 Born Girish Raghunath Karnad ( 1938-05-19) 19 May 1938 (age 80),, (now in, ) Occupation Playwright, film director, film actor Nationality Indian Alma mater, Genre Fiction Literary movement Notable works Tughalak 1964 Girish Raghunath Karnad (born 19 May 1938) is an Indian actor, film director, writer, playwright and a, who predominantly works in and. His rise as a playwright in the 1960s, marked the coming of age of modern Indian playwriting in, just as did in, in Marathi, and in Hindi. He is a recipient of the 1998, the highest literary honour conferred in India. For four decades Karnad has been composing plays, often using history and to tackle contemporary issues. He has translated his plays into English and has received acclaim.