Mysuru: If ever there was a showman whom Mysuru has seen and who had a larger than life image it was the one and the only Ambarish, the Rebel Star, Mandyada Gandu and former Minister.

In the early 1970s and 1980s, this dashing young man was seen on the streets of Mysuru with his group of friends and his frequent haunts were Dhanvantri Road and Maharani’s College Circle where there is also a petrol bunk. He had a fascination for speed and he would be seen zipping on motorbikes or zooming in fancy cars.

He also used to imitate another flamboyant figure of those days, former Minister, the late Aziz Sait, who would always be found with a cigarette between his lips, recall old Mysureans.

Ambarish had a flair for sports and games and he would always excel in any game he played, be it cricket, tennis, table tennis, volleyball and later, even golf. But one thing that is said about the acting legend is his gambler’s luck as he was also an avid cards player who used to play very high stakes.

This interest developed further into horse racing which also resulted in him becoming a member of the prestigious Mysore Race Club (MRC) in 1978. He was always seen in the Race Clubs of Mysore and Bengaluru and probably also in other best known racing destinations in the world, always dressed in suit with a hat, roguishly perched on the top of his head and dark glasses that completed the picture of a champion racing addict.

MRC Secretary K.G. Ananth Raj Urs, who has known Ambarish for more than 40 years, recalls the time when he was first introduced to him at Phono and General Agency shop on Sayyaji Rao Road in Devaraja Market Building, while he was shooting for the film Nagarahavu. Ambarish also used to visit this shop which used to sell gramophone records those days, where the owner Leelaram and his sons L.T. Prakash and L.T. Mukesh who were running the shop were good friends of the actor.

Urs said that once Ambarish became a member of MRC, he used to attend every General Body Meeting, often enquire about the activities of the Club and give suggestions for improvement. “Ambarish’s passing away is a great loss to MRC as he was a very friendly human being and every member feels that he has lost a personal friend,” said Ananth Raj Urs.

Another memory of Ambarish is him having cups of tea near Sringar Hotel Circle just down Maharani’s Circle where there was a famous tea shop which is now shifted elsewhere. With cigarette in his mouth, Ambarish would spend hours sipping piping hot kadak chai.

There will never be anyone like Ambi again, recalled a friend of his of those days, who cherishes the memory of having chai and a smoke with the Ajathashatru.