Ambareesh who died of sudden illness on Saturday night was not just an actor, but he was also a politician. An MLA, MP, minister at both state and Centre. Not many stars had achieved that.
He was highly successful as a film star who had acted in close to 250 movies. He was considered to be the “godfather” of Kannada film industry.
He handled multiple roles with ease in the last 44 years. Ambareesh had a casual approach towards most of the things in life. He was rarely serious about anything.
Born into an illustrious family of the great violinist Peteel Chowdaia”, Ambareesh made his debut in the 1974 superhit Kannada movie Naagarahaavu. His role was small. Young, 18 year old wayward Jaleel. But it made him a household name overnight. Vishnuvardhan who also made his debut as the lead actor in the same movie went onto become the second most famous hero in Kannada after thespian late Rajkumar. Vishnuvardhan died in 2009.
Ambareesh deserved the title “Rebel Star”. He had actually earned it. Unlike many of his contemporaries in cinema, Ambareesh was open about his relationships, drinking habits, gambling, lifestyle etc. He hated hypocrisy.
His roles in Kannada were pathbreaking. He broke away from the convention of heroes not drinking, smoking, womanising etc on silver screen. Ambareesh’s roles were diverse. They were new experiments in Kannada cinema which was too comfotable with the templated movies.
He was a race enthusiast and was a fixure at the century old Bangalore Turf Club. He was also fond of fast cars and expensive liquor.
Speaking to a reporter a few years ago Ambareesh had said “film stars are also human beings. We have all the flaws. May be more flaws than the others. Acting is different and living like others is different. I don’t hide anything from my fans, my voters. I smoke, I drink. What is wrong in that?”.
His friendship with Tamil superstar Rajinikanth is legendary.
He was also the unofficial obudsman of Kannada cinema. Whenever there was a dispute between film industry people, they used to seek his intervention. His words carried weight and most issues were resolved with knocking on the doors of judiciary.
As a politician Ambareesh was not a success. Though he won Assembly and Lok Sabha elections and was a minister at both Centre and State, he never took it seriously. He was too straightforward for that job. He did not have the manipulative skills to survive in politics.
He resigned as an MP twice over the Cauvery river water dispute. He had also quit as Union Minister of State, Information and Broadcasting during UPA- 2 after he felt slighted.
“Power is not a big deal. I don’t think twice before quitting. What is power if it is just ornamental?” he once said.
After Siddaramaiah dropped him from his Cabinet in 2016, Ambareesh was upset. He was not bothered about losing power. But he was upset over the manner in which he was removed. After that had maintained a distance from both Congress and politics.
He took revenge two years later by refusing to contest on the Congress ticket in the Assembly elections.
The rout of the Congress in Mandya in the recent polls was credited to him.
After the death of Rajkumar in 2006, Ambareesh filled the void by leading the Kannada cinema both off and on screen.
He had no enemies. He had friends in all political parties and all factions in the cinema industry. Because he never held grudges against anyone.
He lived the life to the fullest. And there won’t be another like Ambareesh.
Source: News18