Dr. Vishnuvardhan's 64th Birth Anniversary Special

It is the 64th birth anniversary of the Late thespian, Sahasa Simha, Dr. Vishnuvardhan. Born on September 18th, 1950, in Mysore, Vishnuvardhan was originally named Sampath Kumar. He adopted the name Vishnuvardhan on the insistence of director Puttanna Kanagal.

A health camp and a vocational awareness program has been organized on the occasion of his birth anniversaryat Abhiman studio. The health camp and the awareness program is free of cost and open for everyone.

Dr Vishnuvardhan passed away on 30th December 2009. The actor still has a huge fan following among all generation in the state. His popularity remains the same even after his death. Known as the Angry Young man of Kannada, Dr Vishnuvardhan essayed many roles as action hero.

Vishnu sir, as he was called with respect, was known to be one of the most humblest and down to earth person. Perhaps one of the biggest highlight of the actor was that success never robbed him off his humility. Even today many of his fans fondly remember his kind demeanor.

Dr. Vishnuvardhan was also known for his respect for women. It was also evident from the characters that he played on the silver screen. Many actresses like Suhasini, Shruthi and Tara own their success to Dr Vishnuvardhan's guidance. He was a fatherfigure to many other young actors and actresses.

On his bday,,prayers to a grt soul n human "Vishnu Sir"... He is truly missed by all his fans n frnz... Wth luv n respect forever.

— Kichcha Sudeepa (@KicchaSudeep) September 18, 2014

A Great Mentor, Philosopher, One of the sweetest persons, I have ever seen-Vishnu Sir. Entire Karnataka misses you on ur birthday.

— Darshan Thoogudeepa (@dasadarshan) September 18, 2014

On the occasion of his birth anniversary, many celebrities have wished the late actor. Super star Kichcha Sudeep tweeted, "On his bday,,prayers to a grt soul n human "Vishnu Sir"... He is truly missed by all his fans n frnz... Wth luv n respect forever.". Challenging star Darshan also tweeted, "A Great Mentor, Philosopher, One of the sweetest persons, I have ever seen-Vishnu Sir. Entire Karnataka misses you on ur birthday."

Dr Vishnuvardhan's Son-in-Law visited Oneindia and gave an exclusive interview. See the slides to see the excerpts of interview.

What programs will be conducted on Vishnu sir's birthday?

The Vibha Charitable trust run by the family, does a health camp every year free of cost. This year apart from the health camp, there will be vocational awareness program too. The health camp and awareness drive will be conducted at Abhiman Studio premises.

What is the future agenda for the trust?

We plan to continue with the health camp that we conduct twice a year; on his birth and his death anniversary. Apart from that, there was demand for a samaadhi at Abhiman Studio were the ashes has been preserved. We are hoping to make progress on that soon. We also intend to open a film institute at the place.

Please give more information about the film institute.

Currently, there are only two film institutes run by Government in India. One is the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune and the other is Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute in Kolkata. There was no film institute by the government in the South. We only had privately run film institute in Chennai.

Will it be named after Dr. Vishnuvardhan and will the trust be a part of it?

Yes, the government has agreed to build the institute and name it as Dr. Vishnuvardhan Film and Television Institute. This is will the third institute from the government and the second to be named after a film personality. The trust will work along with Central and State government to develop the institute.

What would be the appropriate way to celebrate Vishnu Sir's birthday?

Appaji always believed that bringing a smile on someone's face is the best way to be happy in life. The only way we can pay rich tribute to him is by doing something selflessly to the society. He always believed in giving back to the society which gave us so much love and respect.

Tell us something about Vishnu sir which is not known to many people.

Appaji was never fold of grand celebrations on his birthday. He preferred to do charity and to help people in need. He always believed in the philosophy of giving, and would always advice his fans to do something charitable rather than spend money of frivolous things.