Basanth Patil is new chief of KFCC

Elected to the post for the second time, he will succeed Jayamala.Patil secured 759 votes, while his rival B Vijay Kumar for 312. K Janakiram had to be satisfied with 167 votes.

Support of the Rajkumar family plays a major role in the KFCC elections, and it was obvious that the family backed Patil who owns the distributing agency - Basanth Pictures.

Patil began as an actor, playing the male lead role in a few films. Later, he turned to distribution and production. He is the first film personality in Karnataka to have his own out-door unit. Among the films he has produced are ‘Gulabi Talkies’ and ‘Nayi Neralu’ which won the national award.

The office-bearers who were elected included B N Gangadhar, K Manju and V Hanumantharaya (vice-presidents); S A Chinne Gowda (Treasurer); A Ganesh, Narasimhalu and N K Venkatesh Murthy (Honorary Secretaries). They will hold office for one year.