BENGALURU: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will soon try his hand at acting, in a children’s film. But he may not have try too hard for he will be playing himself in Kavitha Lankesh’s upcoming directorial Summer Holidays.
It will be a small but meaningful role, said Kavitha, who has begun shooting for the Enid Blytonesque film being made in Kannada and English.
Kavitha told Express, “There is the role of a Chief Minister in the film. So I thought of bringing in the real Chief Minister. When I asked him, he agreed. But this is not a publicity stunt, as it is a children’s film.” She is waiting for the date to be confirmed and expects to do the shoot on Thursaday or Friday.
Siddaramaiah may appear in a sequence set in a forest, similar to his real-life meeting with Adivasis in the Didalli forest range. In the movie, the meeting goes viral. “It was nice of him to accept the role,” said Kavitha.
Apparently, his long association with the Lankesh family made Siddaramaiah consider this role. “He has known my father P Lankesh,” said Kavitha, adding, “I interacted with him while heading the State Award committee. He came across as very friendly and non-interfering.”
Her film captures an adventurous journey taken by youngsters and features daughter Esha and nephew Samarjit.
Not first CM to face the camera
Former CMs who’ve acted in films are Ramakrishna Hegde in Marana Mrudanga (1992), JH Patel in Avasthe (1987), HD Kumaraswamy(Ee Preeti Yeke Bhoomi Melide) and Sadananda Gowda in Chella Pilli (2012).