The 2021 Karnataka State Film Awards have been announced, with senior production manager Shivakumar S (popularly known as Shivarjun) receiving the award for his work in the film Pogaru, starring Dhruva Sarja.
Shivarjun began his career about 40 years ago, appearing as an actor in films such as Samsarada Guttu and Prema Parva. Later, he worked as an assistant cinematographer under noted cinematographers Gaurishankar, S. Ramachandra, Madhusudhan, and Sundaranath Suvarna.
He subsequently took up work as a production manager and was associated with leading Kannada film production houses such as Vajreshwari, Eshwari, Ramu Films, KCN Movies, and Arjun Sarja’s Shree Ram Films. He has also worked in Karnataka as the production manager for several Telugu and Tamil films, including S.S. Rajamouli’s Simhadri, Vikramarkudu, Student No.1, and Chatrapathi.
Over the years, Shivarjun has managed production for around 600 Kannada films and more than 150 films from other languages. He also produced the Kannada film Shivarjuna, starring Chiranjeevi Sarja. His work includes several Kannada hits such as Lockup Death, Simhada Mari, AK 47, and Mojugara Sogasugara.
In recognition of his production management for Pogaru, Shivarjun has been awarded the Karnataka State Film Award for the year 2021.