Work on the new Dr Vishnuvardhan memorial in Mysuru begins next week

After nine years of legal tussle, work on

Dr Vishnuvardhan

’s memorial will finally begin this week. The late matinee idol’s memorial will be put up on the five acre land near Udbur Gate of HD Kote Road in Mysuru. Bharathi Vishnuvardhan, wife of the late actor, had performed the initial puja to commence this work back in 2016. The government had allocated five acres of land to Department of Information and Public Relations, and also assigned `5 crore to build a memorial. The work, however, could not take off as a section of farmers approached the court over the ownership of this piece of land. The legal issue was sorted out recently after the high court gave the project the green signal by vacating a civic injunction.

Confirming the news, actor Aniruddha Jatkar, son-in-law of the late Dr Vishnuvardhan, says, “As per the court order, we are now allowed to construct the memorial. It will take us around two years to complete the memorial. We have kept aside a piece of land for the construction of a new branch of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). We have approached both central and state government to set up an FTII in Mysuru in the name of Dr Vishnuvardhan. We are planning to have a dedicated space here that will be a platform to train in theatre, stage plays and to exhibit art. A photo gallery that gives visitors a peek into the life and career of Dr Vishnuvardhan is also being planned.”