Veteran Kannada actor, producer, and director Dwarakish was cremated with State honours in Bengaluru on Wednesday. Several noted personalities from the Kannada film industry paid their final respect to Dwarakish, whose mortal remains were kept at Ravindra Kalakshetra. Dwarakish passed away at the age of 81 on Tuesday.
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Actors Yash, Sudeep, V. Ravichandran, Dhruva Sarja, Ramesh Aravind, Jaggesh, Mukhyamantri Chandru, Shruti, Sundar Raju, Kumar Govind, actor-politician Sumalatha Ambareesh, and music composer Hamsalekha were the popular artistes who visited Kalakshetra to pay tribute.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who paid his final respect to Dwarakish, said: “I remember travelling with Dwarakish on a helicopter to Mysuru. We had an engaging discussion on politics, cinema, and social issues.” Calling him a towering performer who raised the prestige and profile of the Kannada film industry, Mr. Siddaramaiah said: “He suffered many ups and downs in life. However, he never gave up on acting or film production.”
Mr. Hamsalekha told reporters: “Dwarakish was an inspiration and a lesson for every artiste. He deserved more recognition when he was alive.” Mr. Yash said: “Dwarakish broke all traditional rules of filmmaking to attain success.”
Dwarakish’s eldest son Santosh performed his last rites at the TR Mill Crematorium at Chamarajpet. The Karnataka police fired three rounds of bullets as a mark of respect. Dwarakish’s family donated his eyes to Narayana Nethralaya.