Canine film star Simba no more

By Rachana Ramesh

Bengaluru: The golden retriever, Simba popularly known as Gunda who caught the eyes of Kannadigas by starring in Naanu Matthu Gunda, is no more.

The 9-year-old star dog was being treated for tick fever and was on the road to slow recovery. But a sudden attack of jaundice and other liver and kidney complications led to his demise on Monday.

When Simba was a 10-month puppy, he got a role in the Malayalam movie Bangalore Days. It was the start of Simba’s acting career. As soon as his tiny yet touching scene in Bangalore Days became popular, Simba received more offers. “He received an offer for the movie Vaji, which never completed its shooting. The requests were constant but none of the offers suited his personality until Naanu Matthu Gunda,” says Simba’s coach Shivaswami, who is the head of the dog training academy, K9 Gurukul.

Naanu Matthu Gunda, the Kannada movie where an autorickshaw driver adopts an abandoned dog and names it Gunda was Simba’s best work. “He was the hero along with the human hero in the movie,” says Swami. “He was an artiste and would complete all his scenes in single takes. I didn’t even have to specially train him. He was much more than a dog, who simply understood what the director and producer wanted on the spot and executed it,” he said.

When usually well-known actors give voice-overs to animals in movies, Simba himself has dubbed for the film in his own voice. It was a first of its kind attempt that only took 10 days of rehearsal before entering the dubbing studio. Simba had to be taught to make emotion-filled murmuring sounds on command. For takes that required the sounds of deep breaths, Simba would be made to run half a kilometre and for snoring sounds, the team had to wait for him to take a good long two to threehour nap. Simba has also starred in movies like Shivaji Surathkal and in advertisements for BYJU’S.

When Simba was a 30-dayold puppy, Shivaswami brought him to the home of Varun, the owner.

“Since the first day he was brought home, Varun photographed him on a day-to-day basis. He has photos and videos of Simba from when he was a puppy, during the times of his growing mischiefs, until the day of his demise. It is sad to know the pile won’t be added on more,” sniffled Swami.