Ambareesh- He is a darling of Kannada film industry

M.H.Ambareesh, the new Union Minister for state for the Information and Broadcasting ministry is certainly the most popular person in the Kannada film industry. He is admired and liked for his attitude and co-operative nature by every one in the industry from a major star to a light boy or spot boy.

There may be many stars who have shined much better than Ambareesh in the Box office battle, but he is certainly above all of them in terms of popularity. There is not a single person who can criticize him for any of his actions. He is referred to as 'Ajatha Shathru' in the Kannada film industry. Ambareesh's list of friends cuts across different segments of society, class and caste barriers.

He has friends among the top bureaucrats, well known professionals; top sportsman and top business magnets and all of them would love to have his company. He is a must for resolving any disputes in the Kannada film industry as he has some magical powers to convince the warring factions and bring them to a negotiated settlement. He is really the darling of many people in the film industry and politics.

Politics was not in his blood when he entered the film industry. His entry into the film industry was by accident, as director Puttanna Kanagal was scouting for a person with some distinct look. S.V.Rajendra Singh Babu and his brother Sangram Singh who were from Mysore came to know of Puttanna's requirements and forced Ambareesh, then better known as Amaranath to meet the director. Ambareesh had then refused, but Babu forcibly took him to the Premier Studios in Mysore where 'Nagarahaavu' was being shot. One look at him and Puttanna was convinced that he had got the Jaleel he was looking for.

Ambareesh acted in 'Nagarahaavu' and the rest is history. Tracing the path of Ambareesh in the film industry will not be difficult, because his transition from the villain's role to that of a hero was very fast. His first film as the hero 'Amaranath' achieved a fair degree of success, but he made his mark in 'Antha'- directed by Babu and produced by H.N.Maruthi- which capitulated him to the top rank. Within years of his introduction to films, Ambareesh was looked in the industry as the safest bet for film producers. His co-operative nature and helping habits earned him lot of friends in the industry which included a legion of friends.

Dr.Vishnuvardhan, another top star in the Kannada film industry and his greatest friend in the Kannada film industry tells that his spirit of accommodation and is his large heartedness which has brought him lot of people closer to him. And there is some magnetic attraction in him which has made him a ladies man. Every heroine feels most comfortable with him and Ambareesh was never embarrassed to reveal that most of heroines were closer to him. And then he is permanent invitee for most of the birthday functions of the heroines cutting across age barriers.

Ambareesh is the closest friend to South Indian Super Star Rajnikanth, Telugu stars Chiranjeevi and Mohan Babu, Bollywood actor Shatrughan Sinha and also top actress cum Samajawadi party M.P. Ms. Jayaprada. All of them had come to Mandya to participate in his 50th year birthday celebrations along with many Kannada film artists Dr. Vishnuvardhan, Ravichandran, Shivaraj Kumar, Upendra, Sudeep and

Darshan along with his child hood friend and well known film director S.V.Rajendra Singh Babu.