He tried his hands at politics and was an observer of polls
Like many other actors, veteran Kannada lm actor, producer, and director Bungle Shama Rao Dwarakanath, better known as Dwarakish, tried his hands in politics too.
He contested the Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections from his hometown Hunsur in Mysuru district in 2004 as the candidate of the Kannada Nadu Party. Businessman Vijay Sankeshwar, who had then quit the BJP, launched the party. Dwarakish lost against G.T. Deve Gowda of the JD(S). Since then, the actor has been a keen follower of State and national politics.
About a week ago, during an informal chat with The Hindu, Dwarakish, renowned for his comedy roles, discussed the prospects of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, candidates contesting elections, and the role played by Kannada actors and producers in State politics.
He asked about the signicance of the “guarantees” in the polls and had said: “This time, it is very interesting to see which guarantee will win – the ‘Modi guarantee’ or the State Congress government’s guarantees.” He expressed his views against the political slugfest and discussed “failures” of most lm actors in politics and “success” of only a few. He keenly followed Mandya district politics, where several lm stars contested polls in the past.
The actor considered his close friend and former Railway Minister the late Jaer Sharief his “godfather” and recalled how he had helped him in undergoing the heart surgery several years ago.
The actor, always jovial despite the ups and downs, loved having friends around.