Government to construct film city in Bangalore

Wednesday, 06 January 2010

As a tribute to two of Kannada cinema’s biggest actor’s — the late Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan — the state government will construct a film city in their name, said Chief Minister Yeddyurappa on Tuesday.

He was speaking at a condolence meet organised by the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce
(KFCC) to pay homage to Vishnuvardhan, C Ashwath, Chandulal Jain and Circus Boraiah. He announced that the government would allot land for the proposed project which will be called the ‘Dr Rajkumar and Dr Vishnuvardhan film city’.

“We will soon identify land for the film city and the government will ensure that adequate funds are released to realise the dream of having a film city in their name,” said Yeddyurappa.

Earlier, senior BJP leader and Bangalore South MP Ananthkumar urged Yeddyurappa to construct a film city in Mysore as the city, apart from being the cultural capital of the state, was home to some of the best tourist spots. Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah, in his address, said that despite efforts to woo Vishnuvardhan to politics, he remained apolitical and dedicated his life to Kannada cinema.

“I had asked him to contest against Ananthkumar, but he declined,” said Siddaramaiah.

On the occasion, the entire film fraternity had gathered at the Palace Grounds to pay homage to the departed souls.

Actor-turned-politician and Vishnuvardhan’s close friend Ambarish thanked the state government for the support given by it during the funeral of the late actor.

An emotional Ambarish recalled the last time he spoke to his friend and the conversation between them. Other film personalities like KFCC president Jayamala, actors Saroja Devi and Dwarakish, recalled the contributions of Vishnuvardhan as also those of the other members of the film fraternity who had passed away.