Cinema and sports stars join spectacle

Mysuru: A galaxy of Sandalwood stars and sports achievers added glamour to this year’s Jumboo Savari, joining the procession in three specially decorated ‘Ambaari’ open top buses showcasing the legacy of Kannada cinema and sports legacy.

The vehicles featured portraits of Kannada film legends, including Dr. Rajkumar, Vishnuvardhan, Ambareesh and Shankar Nag, along with actresses Aarathi, Bharathi, Jayanthi and Leelavathi, besides noted comedians and film technicians.

The two vehicles carrying film personalities entered the Palace premises to loud cheers from spectators. One vehicle featured a professional movie camera setup, with a technician filming the crowd and the artistes.

Among those who took part were veteran actors ‘Mukhyamantri’ Chandru, Doddanna, V. Ravichandran, Sundar Raj, Ramesh Aravind and Devaraj; producer Rockline Venkatesh; actors Sharan, Sadhu Kokila, Manoranjan, Duniya Vijay, Srimurali, Ganesh, ‘Daali’ Dhananjaya, Prem, Prajwal Devaraj and Srinagar Kitty; and directors Tarun Sudhir and Sangamesh.

Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce President Jayamala, along with Hema Choudhary, Vijayalakshmi Singh, Shruthi, Malavika Avinash, Sapthami Gowda, Pooja Gandhi, Sonal Monteiro and Ragini Dwivedi, was also part of the contingent.

Artistes waved to admirers enroute, while spectators clicked photographs and called out to their favourite stars. Several artistes also took selfies with the crowd, with some later sharing the moments on social media.

Actor ‘Kichcha’ Sudeep, however, did not join the vehicles carrying the film fraternity. He visited the area where Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar was seated inside the Palace and exchanged pleasantries with him before waving to the public and watching the procession.

Some artistes also interacted with the media, recalling their memories of earlier Dasara celebrations and reflecting on the festival’s growth over the years.

Sports personalities, who travelled in ‘Ambaari’ included international basketball player Dr. Pushpa Kuttanna, renowned cricketer Anil Kumble, Chess Grand Master M.S. Thejkumar, Commonwealth Games bronze medallist K.S. Shilpa, Asian Games gold medallist Pranavi Urs, Olympians A.B. Subbaiah and Hakimuddin Shabbir Habibulla.