Mysore/Mysuru: The long wait of fans of late actor ‘Sahasa Simha’ Vishnuvardhan to see a befitting Memorial for their idol has just got longer as the deadline to complete the construction has been extended till September 2022 and the reason for the delay is COVID.

On Sept. 15 last year, the then Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa virtually laid the foundation stone for the actor’s Memorial that is coming up on a five-acre land at Haalaalu village (in Kasaba hobli near Udbur) on H.D. Kote Road at a cost of Rs. 11 crore.

While the CM laid the foundation online, Dr. Bharathi Vishnuvardhan, wife of Dr. Vishnuvardhan, and his family members were present at the Memorial site. The construction has been entrusted to Karnataka Police Housing Corporation. Vishnuvardhan’s birthday falls on Sept. 18 and the actor died on Dec. 30, 2009. He is a part of the triumvirate of Kannada cinema along with Dr. Rajkumar and Ambarish.

Twelve years have passed since the death of Dr. Vishnuvardhan and still a Memorial could not be built due to various reasons including land tussle in Bengaluru and Mysuru. Finally, the family got the land in Mysuru and that too was secured after prolonged litigation in the Court. The Government also sanctioned Rs. 11 crore and the funds are with Dr. Vishnuvardhan Smaraka Pratishtana Trust.

According to the actor’s son-in-law Aniruddh, the COVID pandemic had delayed the works and only half of the works have been completed. The Memorial will be ready by September 2022, he added. Of the total 5.5 acre plot, the Memorial will stand in 2.5 acres and the rest will be for a centre on the lines of Film and Television Institute of  India, Pune.

The Memorial was initially planned at Abhiman Studio in Uttarahalli, Bengaluru, where the actor was cremated. Aniruddh said that there are no plans to shift Abhiman Studio Memorial. “That Memorial will remain there. We have collected a part of cremated ashes from Abhiman Studio which will be placed in the Memorial being constructed in Mysuru,” he clarified. The Memorial at Mysuru, which will be a tourist attraction and an academic centre, will feature a 6-ft tall statue of the late actor, a photo gallery, water pond, 250-seat auditorium and canteen among others.