Benaka came into existence in June 1974 under the able guidance of B.V. Karanth
B V Karanth entered the world of theatre at seven as an actor and later became a director producing the works of renowned kannada playwrights like P. Lankesh, Girish Karnad and Chandrashekar Kambar. He introduced folk idioms borrowed from Yakshagana, to the stage and also worked as Director of the National School of Drama.
Karanth's cinema debut as director was with Vamsha Vriksha. He later made the classic Chomana Dudi and scored music for films by G.v Iyer, Mrunal Sen, M S Satyu, Girish Kasaravalli and T.S.Nagabharana.
Karanth directed over a hundred plays in Kannada, Hindi, English, Telugu, Malayalam, Punjabi, Urdu, Sanskrit and Gujarati. His better known Kannada productions include Hayavadana, Kattale Belaku, Huchu Kudure, Evam Indrajit, Oedipus, Sankranti, Jokumara Swami, Sattavara Neralu, Huttava Badidara & GokulaNirgamana.
He directed over 40 plays in Hindi, including Macbeth (using Yakshagana), King Lear, Chandrahasa, Ghasiram Kotwal, Mrichha Katika, Mudra Rakshasa, and Malavikaagni Mitra, Karanth had a special gift for working with children on stage directing several children's plays such as Panjara Shale, Neeli Kudure, Heddaayana, Alilu Ramayana & The Ungrateful Man.