The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Will the luck of ‘Mungaru Male’ hold?

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Wednesday, May 07, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Will the luck of ‘Mungaru Male’ hold?

Staff Reporter

E. Krishnappa

Bangalore: ‘Mungaru Male’ Krishnappa is how he is popularly known among the supporters in his constituency, Yelahanka. Having come into fortune and fame with the Kannada blockbuster “Mungaru Male”, one would imagine that E. Krishnappa, its producer, would use it to great advantage in his campaigning as a Janata Dal (Secular) candidate.

But we neither hear the beats of “Anisutide Yako Indu” amplified by loudspeakers nor do we have superstar Ganesh making a special appearance.

It would certainly have added an entertainment quotient to his campaign, but Mr. Krishnappa is adamant that he will not leverage the success of the movie in his political campaign. “Ganesh and Sanjana Gandhi have offered to join in my campaign, but I do not want that kind of drama to take away from the problems of my constituency,” he said. Yelahanka constituency is unique in that it represents problems of rural, semi-urban and urban areas.

Area’s problems

As a newly added Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike area, issues such as pipe water and sanitation are major concerns in Yelahanka town, while agricultural areas such as Hessarghatta face water scarcity. Also, 20,000 garment workers in the semi-urban Dasanapura hobli represent acute economic disempowerment.

Mr. Krishnappa, the owner of multiple ‘E.K.’ enterprises — from real estate to garment manufacturing to E.K. Entertainment — insists “I am a simple man.”

Tugging at his clothes, he says, “See, I wear half-sleeve shirts and my staple food is ‘ragi mudde’. You will not see me flaunting gold jewellery.” But no doubt, Mr. Krishnappa is eagerly anticipating the fate the real “Mungaru male” has in store for him, and if the poll results will bring him the kind of fortune that the eponymous celluloid creation did.

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