The event was organised by the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce with the help of the Kannada Film Producers Association, Kannada Film Directors Association, Cine Workers Federation and Film Artists Federation.

Despite disorganised planning of the inaugural function which created a mountain of problems for the Police and the invitees, the function was memorable for Kamal Hassan's speech, and the three hour cultural live extravaganza by a majority of the Kannada artists.

Hassan passionately appealed to the politicians of both the states not to interfere in cinema and create rift between the artists of the two states. "Artistes don't have religion, caste, language and regional barriers. Art is above these things," he said.

"You all know that I can speak Kannada but I cannot read or write making me an illiterate in this language. I wrote my speech in Tamil and took the help of Ramesh Arvind in drafting it in Kannada," he added.

The actor then spoke of his fondness for Dr Rajkumar and stated that "Dr Rajkumar is not just your annavaru but also mine."

He then went on to mention legends of Tamil cinema of Kannada origin like Nagesh and Rajnikanth. "We have numerous Kannadigas who are in our industry and we have made them our own," he said adding that "Kannada literature has made great contributions to Indian literature."

"You have some great film makers like Girish Kasaravalli, Girish Karnad and B V Karanth who are credited with some memorable films. Eminent writers like Dr U R Anantha Murthy and P Lankesh have also contributed to the development of the Kannada film industry," he reminded the audience.

Kamal ended up by quoting late Dr Gopala Krishna Adiga, one of the most famous modern poets in Kannada.

Text: R G Vijayasarathy

In the picture: (from left) Kamal Hassan, Parvathamma and Karnataka Chief Minister, B S Yediyurappa.

Listen to: Dard-E-Disco
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