Actors urge Siddaramaiah to confer Karnataka Ratna on Vishnuvardhan and B Saroja Devi

Bengaluru: Actor and former minister Jayamala, and actors Shruthi Krishna and Malavika Avinash met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday, requesting him to confer the Karnataka Ratna title on actors Vishnuvardhan and B Saroja Devi.

They also requested the CM to rename Malleswaram’s 11th cross as Dr Saroja Devi Road. The actor resided there for many years until her death in July. “The CM was very receptive and willing to consider the request that we made. He said he will place the same before the cabinet on September 4. He said he has to consult his cabinet colleagues to pick a candidate for the Karnataka Ratna,” Malavika told DH. Karnataka Ratna is the highest civilian award conferred by the Karnataka government.

Additionally, irrespective of when the title will be conferred, a request was made to announce it on Vishnuvardhan’s 75th birth anniversary on September 18.

They will meet Tushar Girinath, Additional Chief Secretary of the Urban Development Department about renaming Malleswaram’s 11th Cross Road.

Speaking about why, despite both the actors being veterans, the government has not conferred the Karnataka Ratna title in all these years, Malavika said, “I don’t know why successive governments have not thought about it, especially in the case of Vishnuvardhan. It has been 15 years since his death. Maybe there has been no such official request made, these things need to be spoken about and discussed,” Malavika said, adding, “He was more than a father figure to me.”

Jayamala has acted alongside Vishnuvardhan in several films, including Benki Birugali (1984), Naga Kala Bhairava (1981) and ‘Hanthakana Sanchu’ (1980). Shruthi has played the heroine to Vishnuvardhan in films like ‘Veerappa Nayaka’ (1999), ‘Soorappa’ (2000) and ‘Sirivantha’ (2006).

Vishnuvardhan’s memorial in the disputed Abhinav Studios was razed in the middle of the night last month, as fans claimed. Actor Kichcha Sudeepa has bought half-an-acre land to build a statue and memorial for the veteran actor.