"Namm Yajamanru"-A tribute to VishnuVardhan

It is difficult to explain the bond between a fan and a star.It is difficult to control the urge to jump into a argument when somebody points flaws in your star(Soldiers fighting for the king they have never seen you would say).It is difficult to explain why somebody would want to see him one last time, braving heavy security,mad crowds knowing very well that he would not come back.It is difficult not to pay tribute to your hero when he sets off for a journey into a land of unknown.More so when he is somebody of VishnuVardhan's stature

One reason why somebody gets so emotionally attached with a cine star is he plays all the roles you always wanted to play in real life.You always wanted to be a rebel,wanting to tie your principal to a lamp-post for the suspension awarded to you,showing anger towards the age old caste system as he did in NagaraHaavu.You always wanted to protect your country's frontiers till the last breath like he did in Muttina Haara.You always wanted to bow in reverence to the River Kaveri like in Jeevanadi.You always wanted to be a special commando who would bash criminals and save hostages holed up in a bank like he essayed in Nishkarsha.The list goes on...

Little known is the fact that VishnuVardhan was also into singing albeit occasionally.His simplicity and the character of his life is perfectly emphasized in the song Tuttu Anna Tinnoke which he sang for the movie Jimmigallu.It is said that he turned to spiritualism for all the pressures he faced in his life.One such incident was the "shooting controversy" involving him and the late RajKumar while filming the climax for GandhadaGudi(Somebody accidentally replcaed a dummy revolver with a live and loaded one and the scene had Vishnu pointing the gun towards RajKumar threatening to kill him and his mother.You can read more about this here http://churumuri.wordpress.com/2006/04/14/the-day-dr-raj-kumar-was-almost-shot-dead/).Though neither of them were responsible for what happened on that day,Vishnuvardhan was at the receiving end of Dr.Raj's fans outrage,given that RajKumar had a huge stardom by that time(That it was a surprise why VishnuVardhan chose to play a villain after the huge success of NaagaraHaavu and that too against RajKumar is another matter). The solace which he found in spiritualism resulted in a number of devotional albums sung by him

Some of the roles he portrayed may not be matched by any.Showing exemplary levels of service and dedication towards his profession and depicting what true love actually is, was his character in Bandhana.The 1997 movie Laali depicted beautifully the relationship between a widowed husband and his daughter.Some of the new age movies claiming to hold a mirror to a mother-son relationship, should take a leaf out of this movie's book.I cannot forget the sight of people from villages coming to towns and cities in trucks and tractors to watch him as an elder and a younger brother in Yajamana.If there was ever a movie which could be called a SMASH-HIT,this surely will be right up there

It is difficult to hold your tears when you come to grips with the fact that your MADIKERI SIPAYI is no more.It is difficult!!