Stars descend on City for Ambi b'day bash

The 60th birthday celebrations of Ambareesh on Tuesday evening was a fitting tribute to Kannada film industry’s ‘Rebel Star’ known for his humility and philanthropy. 

Not only did the entire Kannada film fraternity turn up for the big event, Ambareesh’s fans also milled around the venue, Palace Grounds, in large numbers. As film industry bigwigs and political leaders heaped praise on the ‘Kaliyuga Karna’, the man remained what he has been all these days: an epitome of humanism and compassion.  In the words of Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, Ambareesh’s is a story of what human endeavour can achieve. He is an ordinary boy who rose to glow as a shining jewel in Karnataka’s crown. 

Gowda said it was time to repay what Ambareesh had given to society. 

Ambareesh began his career with negative roles, but became a reel hero later on. His friend and Union Minister for Power Sushil Kumar Shinde said he could not meet Ambareesh in Delhi after he resigned from the Cabinet over the Cauvery issue in 2007.

“He didn’t go after power. He is a man of hope. He could quit as a minister for he is an artiste at heart,” Shinde said. 

Telugu actor Nandamuri Balakrishna took pride in the fact that Ambareesh was born in the land of Krishnadevaraya, the Vijayanagar king who patronised Telugu language. 

A galaxy of film stars descended for ‘Ambi Sambhrama’. Among them were Tamil superstar Rajnikant, Bollywood actors Shatrughan Sinha, Jackie Shroff, Suniel Shetty, Jayaprada, Telugu stars Chiranjeevi, Mohan Babu, singer S P Balasubramaniam, et al.

Kannada film stars Shivaraj Kumar, Puneeth Rajkumar, Sudeep, Darshan, Ramya, Ganesh, Prakash Rai, Vijaya Raghavendra, Prem, Duniya Vijay, Sanjana, Doddanna, and others were present.