Kannada Film Industry On Murali

A few days ago Tamil actor Murali was in Bengaluru to promote his son Atharva's film Baana Kaathadi. He had met a couple of media friends in Bengaluru to introduce his son.

Alternatively he had also organised a separate press conference where he had laughingly said film journalism has also been taken over by youngsters now as much as is the case with film industry all over India.

Murali's first Tamil film was Poo Vilangu. His last movie was Baana Kaathaadi where he introduced his son Atharva. But before entering the film industry Murali had acted in many Kannada films and was touted the most talented actor in the industry.

Born in Chennai, Murali`s father was also a part of the film industry. When Kannada film industry shifted its base to Bengaluru, his father shifted his base to the city where Murali was brought up. Murali joined National School which is the most respected schools in the city and later joined Vidya Vardhaka School. But later he showed a lot of interest in film making and joined his father as an assistant director.

Sensing his son`s interest in acting Siddalingaiah introduced his son as the hero in the film Prema Parva which became a run away hit. Later he acted in many films like Ajay-Vijay, Padma Vyuha and many others. Even after working in Tamil films, he continued to act in Kannada films. But later when he became very busy in Kollywood, this talented actor shifted his focus too.

When he came to Bengaluru recently, Murali had plans to come back to the Tamil film industry with a bang.

"Yes, I have not been acting in films for the past three years. Now, the trend has changed. Now, many producers are coming to me with a fat advance and asking me to act in the roles of a police officer or an elder brother to an established hero. I dont want to do such roles. I want to prove that I can still carry a film on my shoulders. The actor in me is still passionate. But he is prepared to accept challenges and not do normal roles," said Murali.

The Kannada film industry is in deep shock over the sudden tragic death of Murali at such a young age. "He was such a great human being. His death was a shock and I can not bear this tragedy. When we were young we were very close to each other that I used to go to him for advise. After finishing our shooting, we used to meet on a regular basis. Even recently he had come to me to invite me for the launch of his son's film. Murali remains a great friend not only to me, but to many in the Tamil film industry," says Arjun Sarja, another big star of Tamil film industry.

Actress Bhavya who was the heroine in Prema Parva says that Murali had a good heart and always wanted to help others. "On the sets he always proved to be a terrific actor. He was always focused. But deep inside he is very humane and treated people with respect and humility," says Bhavya.

Actress Tara who had acted with Murali in Kollywood says that she has been in shock to know that Murali died in sleep in his Chennai residence. "I had acted with him in a Tamil film. He was already a good star. Murali sir enjoyed a big fan following at that time. He had many ups and downs in his profession, but never lost interest in films. He was always jovial and remained enthusiastic throughout," says Thara who won the Best Actress National award for her performance in the film Haseena.