Vishnu remembered with much 'fanfare'

To commemorate the occasion, a Palike park located in front of Vishnuvardhan’s house in Jayanagar ‘T’ Block was named after him as ‘Vishnuvardhan Vishranti Vana’.

Speaking after renaming the park, his wife Bharati said her husband was a nature lover and that she was happy that a park in front of her house was named after him.

Jayanagar MLA B N Vijaykumar, actors Ramesh Aravind, Bank Janardhan, Shobharaj, Meghana, Anirudh, K Manju, BBMP Commissioner Siddaiah, Mayor Sharadamma and Deputy Mayor S Harish were present on the occasion.

Thousands of fans thronged Abhiman Studio where the veteran actor was laid to rest in 2009.

As part of the birthday celebrations, Vibha Charitable Trust organised health camps, blood donation and eye donation camps. Actors Shivaram and Jai Jagadish were present at the studio

Vishnuvardhan’s fans protested in front of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce’s office (KFCC) stating that even two years after the actor’s death, the government is yet to begin work on Vishnuvardhan’s memorial. The fans have suggested the setting up of a gallery depicting the actor’s life besides a library and a yoga centre.

Vishnu lookalike
There was a huge applause from the audience when a junior artiste on stage said: “Vishnuvardhan has gone nowhere. He is here, in me and in you. And he will be here forever.”

Ravi S Koti, the junior artiste, won the hearts of Vishnu’s ardent fans with his mimicry of the legendary Kannada film actor at Ravindra Kalakshetra on Sunday.

While Ravi has been a mimicry artist for two decades, it was only in 2008, that he decided to adorn the image of Karnataka’s most respected film actor.

On Sunday, he traveled all they way from his village in Bijapur and performed at Ravindra Kalakshetra.

Ravi, dressed in a white kurta, a beaded necklace and a white bandana, resembled the late actor. A three-day movie festival dedicated to Vishnu began to commemorate the actor’s birthday.