BENGALURU: More than one lakh people bid a tearful farewell to the ‘Rebel Star’ of the Kannada film industry, M H Ambareesh, at Sri Kanteerava Stadium, where his mortal remains were kept for public viewing on Sunday after he passed away late on Saturday night.
Ambareesh’s body was brought to the stadium at 8am from his JP Nagar residence. The number of fans arriving at the stadium kept swelling and continued till 3.45 pm, till his body was shifted to HAL Airport, to be airlifted by a helicopter to Mandya.
Many of his fans, who came in a queue, were seen crying and shouting, even cursing God for “taking him away”, as they stood before his mortal remains.
Policemen had a tough time controlling the crowd.
From veteran actors to small kids, women to the physically challenged, all braved the heat to pay homage to their ‘Ambi’.
The ‘who’s who’ of the South Indian film industry also gathered at the stadium to bid their beloved friend, philosopher and guide, a final goodbye. He was also considered as the “Supreme Court Judge” of Sandalwood for his ability to intervene in disputes in the Kannada film industry and resolve them amicably.
Mohan Babu was seen sobbing inconsolably while Rajinikanth and Chiranjeevi were seen wiping away tears as they paid their condolences to Ambareesh’s wife Sumalatha and son Abhishek.
Politicians cutting across party lines paid their last respects. KPCC chief Dinesh Gundurao, former CM Siddaramaiah, D K Shivakumar and BJP leaders B S Yeddyurappa and political leaders from Mandya also paid homage. Tejaswini Ananth Kumar, wife of union minister H N Ananth Kumar who died recently, also offered floral tributes to Ambareesh.