Vishnuvardhan memorial may house film institute

The six-acre memorial for actor Vishnuvardhan, coming up near Mysuru, is likely to include a film institute.

Work began on the memorial on Tuesday, after a 10-year wait, with Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa laying the foundation stone virtually from Bengaluru.

The memorial is located at Halalu village near Udbur in Mysuru taluk.

Bharati Vishnuvardhan, well-known actor and wife of the thespian, and former ministers G T Deve Gowda and S A Ramdas were among those present.

Spread across six acres, the memorial will have a six-foot statue and a photo gallery with about 650 pictures of Vishnuvardhan.

Anirudh, actor and son-in-law of Vishnuvardhan, told Showtime the memorial would include an auditorium to hold film screenings and festivals. There will be space for workshops, a cafeteria, and a larger open space for theatre performances.

“Of course, there will be films of my father-in-law screened during festivals and perhaps used for the workshops too,” says Anirudh.

The remaining land will be used to house a film institute. “We are in talks with the Film and Television Institute of India to open a branch in Karnataka. We don’t have anything like that here and it will be a great addition,” says Anirudh.

The state government owns the land, and the central government could step in with the infrastructure, he told Showtime.

“We have been trying to get the work going for this since 2011 but we could make it possible only now. We hope to complete the memorial by next year. The institute might take a bit longer.”

When asked why Mysuru was chosen instead of Bengaluru, the actor explained, “He was born in Mysuru and had great affection towards the city. He also passed away there.”

He said the family and fans did try to make things happen in Bengaluru for about six years but “there were too many obstructions.”