Superstars to grace Raj memorial event

Amitabh Bachachan, Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Chiranjeevi, Mohanlal and Mammootty are among the superstars who will be invited to the inauguration of Rajkumar memorial at Kanteerava studios in Bangalore on November 29.

Disclosing this to the media, Minister for Information Roshan Baig said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will personally write to these actors to take part in the inaugural function. He will also extend an invitation to B Saroja Devi and M H Ambareesh of the Kannada filmdom, he added.

Baig, who held a meeting with representatives of Kannada filmdom and the Rajkumar family and senior officials of the Information department, said a cultural programme will be organised in the evening the same day at the Palace Grounds. Ambareesh, Raghavendra Rajkumar, S Narayan, Tara and Kannada writer Baraguru Ramachandrappa attended the meeting. They are the members of the welcome committee set up for organising the function.

To a question why there has been a delay in constructing the memorial, Ramachandrappa said the memorial comprises landscaping, construction of an open-air theatre, a museum and an auditorium. Currently, only landscaping around the samadhi has been completed. The remaining work will be taken up in the second phase after the government hands over the land, he added.

Ambareesh, who is also the Housing Minister, admitted that there had been a delay in completing the memorial work and said the government is not against giving land for this purpose. Steps will be taken to complete it at the earliest, he added.

On delay in constructing a memorial for late Vishnuvardhan, he said the project was delayed due to land issue. “The government could have managed to get the land from the owners. But the owners are family members of late actor Balakrishna. We do not want to cause any inconvenience to the family members,” he stated.

Disclosing this to the media, Minister for Information Roshan Baig said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will personally write to these actors to take part in the inaugural function. He will also extend an invitation to B Saroja Devi and M H Ambareesh of the Kannada filmdom, he added.

Baig, who held a meeting with representatives of Kannada filmdom and the Rajkumar family and senior officials of the Information department, said a cultural programme will be organised in the evening the same day at the Palace Grounds. Ambareesh, Raghavendra Rajkumar, S Narayan, Tara and Kannada writer Baraguru Ramachandrappa attended the meeting. They are the members of the welcome committee set up for organising the function.

To a question why there has been a delay in constructing the memorial, Ramachandrappa said the memorial comprises landscaping, construction of an open-air theatre, a museum and an auditorium. Currently, only landscaping around the samadhi has been completed. The remaining work will be taken up in the second phase after the government hands over the land, he added.

Ambareesh, who is also the Housing Minister, admitted that there had been a delay in completing the memorial work and said the government is not against giving land for this purpose. Steps will be taken to complete it at the earliest, he added.

On delay in constructing a memorial for late Vishnuvardhan, he said the project was delayed due to land issue. “The government could have managed to get the land from the owners. But the owners are family members of late actor Balakrishna. We do not want to cause any inconvenience to the family members,” he stated.