BANGALORE: Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Ambareesh on Tuesday said that it was wrong to identify and project him as a leader of Vokkaliga community alone as he was basically an artiste loved and supported by all.

Mr. Ambareesh was participating in the Meet-the-Press programme organised by the Press Club of Bangalore here on Tuesday.

The Union Minister said that although he was a Vokkaliga and Kannadiga by birth, he had a responsibility to society and humanity as an artiste and a politician.

His entry into cinema and politics were an accident. He entered cinema industry as a small time artiste in the late Shankar Singh's "Bangarada Kalla". But it was a villain's role that the late Puttana Kangal offered in his film "Nagarahaavu" based on the trilogy of the late writer Ta. Raa. Su that fetched him stardom, he said.

Byelection

On whether his party would register a resounding victory in the Chamundeshwari byelections to be held on December 4 against the determined campaign by the Janata Dal (Secular) leaders, the 54-year-old actor-turned-politician said the people's will would triumph ultimately.

Although the Janata Dal (S) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were making efforts to field a common candidate who could give a tough fight to the Congress, the people of the constituency knew what the former Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had done for them, he said.

Known for his pro-worker position, Mr. Ambareesh said that he had asked the warring factions of the Kannada cinema industry to leave the responsibility of solving their problems to him in the larger interest.

Although he was identified with Kannada cinema, he was committed to the cause of regional films in the country, he said.

Stating that Doordarshan that had been equipping itself with all the latest technology had a bright future, he said he would need some time to get familiar with the issues pertaining to his Ministry.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail