Golden Star Ganesh: 'It was S.K. Bhagavan sir who taught me what cinema & television mean'

Filmmaker S.K. Bhagavan's demise has cast a large shadow of grief on the entire Kannada Film Industry. Known for his stellar work as one-half of the director duo Dorai-Bhagavan, he has left behind a most vibrant and credible cinematic legacy that includes many cult classics. And over the course of his almost five-decade-long career, he has worked with several superstars including Dr. Rajkumar, Kalpana, Jayanthi, Ananth Nag, Lakshmi and many more.

Many of his former collaborators and other noted names from the film fraternity visited S.K. Bhagavan's daughter's residence to pay their respects to the mortal remains of the legendary filmmaker. One among those visitors was the Golden Star himself who was evidently sombre while paying tribute to the filmmaker who launched him as an actor. Ganesh, as many would already know, began his career on the small screen and his entry was marked with a television serial that was helmed by S.K. Bhagavan. Having paid his respects, the Baandariyalli actor would fondly recall the time spent with the late filmmaker during his brief interaction with the media.

"It was under Bhagavan sir's direction that my career in television began with a serial. I remember being in a classroom when I got the call from Bhagavan sir's end and when I reached the said location soon after, I was told that I was going to act in that serial. So, it was Bhagavan sir who nurtured my dream of being an actor. After that casting, I began to get offers from various places and I have learnt so much from him. All of us have grown up watching the films he made (along with S. Dorai Raj) - be it the adaptations of novels or Bond-like films - so, I would ask him so many questions about those films and he would answer each of them with a lot of patience. It was Bhagavan sir who taught me what cinema is, what a serial is so when I learnt of his passing, I was quite saddened. I wish for strength to his family during these times and pray that Bhagavan sir's soul rests in peace," said Ganesh.

After being launched on television, Ganesh would rise to prominence as the host of the hit TV comedy show Comedy Time before making his debut in cinema.