Fans in Bengaluru & Mandya bid final farewell to Ambareesh

From superstars and stars to labourers, from political veterans to college students in their 20s, thousands paid homage to Ambareesh on Sunday in Bengaluru and Mandya, home of the actor-turned-politician. Among those who broke down was superstar Rajinikanth who said, “Ambareesh the actor can be
reborn but we won’t see Ambareesh the human being again.” He confessed that Ambareesh had called him a few days ago and threatened to “kill me” if he did not come calling on his next visit to Bengaluru.
A slew of political leaders and film stars paid homage to Ambareesh at the Kanteerava stadium. His wife Sumalatha and son Abhishek remained by his side all day. Former PM HD Deve Gowda and his wife, his son and CM HD Kumaraswamy, former CM Siddaramaiah and state BJP chief Yeddyurappa were among those who paid their respects. From the filmdom, Chiranjeevi, Mohan Babu, R Sarathkumar, Raadhika and Suhasini Manirathnam arrived in close succession. Most actors from Sandalwood were present.
Around 5pm, the body was airlifted to Sir M Visvesvaraya stadium in Mandya where hundreds of fans waited patiently for hours to catch a last glimpse of their leader. This followed protests by fans who wanted Ambareesh’s last rites to be held in his birthplace.
Charged slogans of ‘Ambi Amar Rahe (long live Ambareesh)’ and ‘Ambi matte hutti baa (Ambi, be reborn here)’ rent the air as the copter landed. It was a fitting halt as it was at the stadium that Ambareesh held a mega rally when he took the political plunge and joined Congress. It was also here, at a felicitation in the late 90s, that veteran politician G Madegowda named him ‘Mandyada Gandu’.