Vishnuvardhan 68th birth anniversary: From Shivaraj Kumar to Ravichandran, Sandalwood celebs unite for a cause

The birthday celebration of late Sandalwood icon Vishnuvardhan will begin little early this year with his family planning an event in his name to raise fund for a noble cause. A musical evening called 'Hrudaya Geethe' is organised on 14 September, four days before his special day, at Chowdiah Memorial Hall at 6 pm. Several Sandalwood stars are expected to attend the event.

Speaking at the press meet, Bharathi Vishnuvardhan said that money generated from the event will be donated for the heart surgeries of the needy children. VIBHA Charitable Trust has tied up with Rotary Bengaluru South East, which has partnered with Needy Heart Foundation to achieve the objective.

Ambareesh, Shivaraj Kumar, Jaggesh, Ramesh Aravind, Sri Murali, Sunil Raoh, Aindrita Ray, Shamitha Malnad, BK Sumithra, Naveen Krishna, Rishab Shetty, Archana Udupa, Shruti, Sharan, Master Anand and many other notable faces from film industry will be present at 'Hrudaya Geethe' and many of which will sing at the event.

"There are two unique features about this event. Firstly, we have many actors and actresses from the industry whom the public would witness singing live for the first time. Secondly, this concert will see the stars and the city of Bengaluru coming together for saving many a young life," Anirudh, son-in-law of Vishnuvardhan, said on behalf of VIBHA Charitable Trust.

Anirudh's six Short Films Release
To coincide with the birthday celebration of Vishnuvardhan, Anirudh's six short films will be screened at the Suchitra Film Society. The total duration of the videos is 15 minutes.

Vishnuvardhan's Memorial

Even nine years after his death, a memorial of Vishnuvardhan has remained on papers. 

"I get emotional when I speak about the memorial. We have done all what we can, but unable to fulfil our dream," Anirudh explained.

However, Bharathi Vishnuvardhan hoped that Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, as promised in his election manifesto, will fulfil the promise of constructing a memorial. She ended on the note by indicating that the family has other plans for the memorial if it does not materialise by December 2018.

After the death of Vishnuvardhan in 2009, Yeddyurappa's government gave a green signal to construct a memorial at the Abhiman Studios and released Rs 5 crore, but the project was hit by trouble owing to land disputes.

Then, Siddaramaiah government allocated land in Mylasandra village in Kengeri, Bengaluru, and laid a foundation, but the project could not see much progress as the land came under the buffer zone Turahalli Forest and law prohibits occupancy of land around 100-metre radius of reserve forests.

The State government finally decided to shift the Vishnuvardhan Memorial from Bengaluru to Mysuru, but the land issues remain.