A dream come true for late actor’s fans after a decade
Mysore/Mysuru: It was a dream come true for the fans of renowned Kannada actor, late Dr. Vishnuvardhan with Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa laying the foundation stone for the actor’s memorial online from Bengaluru this morning. The Vishnu Memorial is coming up on a five-acre land at Haalaalu village on H.D. Kote Road at a cost of Rs. 11 crore. The construction is entrusted to Karnataka Police Housing Corporation.
While the CM laid the foundation online, Dr. Bharathi Vishnuvardhan, wife of Dr. Vishnuvardhan, and his family members were present at the memorial site.
Speaking on the occasion, the CM said Dr. Vishnuvardhan was one of the best actors in Kannada film industry and he was a role model to the youths for his simplicity. For his fans, he was known as ‘Sahasa Simha’ and had a place in the hearts of lakhs of people. Dr. Vishnu made an immense contribution to the Kannada filmdom after the demise of Dr. Rajkumar.
Yediyurappa said Dr. Vishnuvardhan had acted in several movies in his 38-year-old film career. From ‘Nagarahaavu’ till ‘Aptarakshaka’, the late actor stole the hearts with his sterling performance. The speciality of his films were concern for society and human values.
Dr. Bharathi Vishnuvardhan, an actress in five languages and a winner of Padma Shree, took a lot of interest in the construction of a memorial in Mysuru, the hometown of the late actor, the CM said.
“There has been a delay in the construction of Vishnu Memorial due to some reasons. I have given instructions to complete it on priority. Already, Rs. 5 crore has been released of the total Rs. 11 crore sanctioned for the project,” CM Yediyurappa stated.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Bharathi Vishnuvardhan remembered her husband’s rich contribution to the Kannada film industry and said that the proposed memorial will inspire youths who wish to select cinema as their career. Due to some reasons, the project became a reality only after a decade thanks to initiation of the CM, she added. In fact, CM Yediyurappa took keen interest and cleared all the hurdles to avoid further delay. “I am thankful to the CM for fulfilling my dream. I am also equally indebted to my son-in-law Aniruddh and my daughter Keerthi, who continuously followed-up with the Government to get the project cleared. Most importantly, it is lakhs of fans of my husband who put pressure on the Government in this regard,” she said.
She regretted that people expect everything to happen instantly, but things will happen only when God wishes. The same thing applies to Dr. Vishnu Memorial. This memorial will be unique in many things. It will have an exhibition of items used by the late actor, she added.
MLA G.T. Devegowda, Aniruddh, Keerthi, MLA S.A. Ramdas, MUDA Chairman H.V. Rajeev, Deputy Commissioner B. Sharat and others were present.
Facilities at memorial
Auditorium, artistes’ room, fountain, exhibition, gallery, classrooms, director’s cabin, office staff room and toilet would come up at the Memorial premises.
Seriously? He was a good entertainer, people paid money to see his films, he was paid handsome for acting and also he got rich using his fame and people’s goodwill. Then he died leaving crores of wealth to his family. Ideally, all his income earned due to his fans should be donated to the welfare of the society. Instead of that, these immoral selfish freeriders are using tax-payers money to build memorial to an individual. Why can’t they convert his house to a memorial and live somewhere else? This BJP govt and it is leadership is so shameless and populist that they think they are doing a favor to people by sponsoring 11cr to this nonsense. Our rajas built temples, now these politicians build memorials for each other.