MYSURU: The iconic Premier Studio in the city, which shaped the cinema journey of several actors including Dr Rajkumar and Bharathi, was partially pulled down on Friday.
The godowns and huge halls of the studio were demolished most likely to make way for a high-rise residential building. Set up by Basavarajaiah, more than 700 movies in Kannada, Tamil and other languages have been shot in the studio. It was opened in 1953 by former CM Kengal Hanumanthaiah. Several actors from the Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and other languages such as M G Ramachandran, B Saroja Devi, N T Rama Rao and Rajinikanth have shot on the different floors of the studio.
The studio hit headlines when a fire broke out during the shoot of Bollywood actor Sanjay Khan’s 'The Sword of Tipu Sultan' in 1989. The fire killed 42 people and injured 30 others. The studio further lost its glory when movie-making shifted to Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad.The heritage palace on the campus, however, was converted into a hotel which is still in business.