Karnataka CM hopeful HD Kumaraswamy's Kannada film connection

New Delhi: HD Kumaraswamy, the Janata Dal Secular (JDS) leader and son of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda and, is not only a politician but also has a connection with the Kannada film world. Kumaraswamy may become the next Chief Minister of Karnataka as the Congress has extended its support to his party to form the next government in Karnataka.

But the CM candidate was not always interested in politics in spite of being the son of Deve Gowda, a full-time politician and at one time the Prime Minister of India. He was into film-making and production before taking the plunge into full-time politics. He has produced several successful Kannada films and out of which Chandra Chakori became a massive hit. The film was credited with running in theatres for 365 days at a stretch. 

Some of the films produced by Kumaraswamy are Surya Vamsha (1999) Galate Aliyandru (2000) Chandra Chakori (2003) Jaguar (2016). Kumaraswamy is also a huge fan of Kannada film legend Rajkumar and because of him, he joined the industry. Kumar once said that in his college days, he used to wear clothes like Rajkumar.

A couple of week's before the Karnataka Assembly elections 2018, Kumaraswamy had on April 29, expressed his confidence in becoming the "king" and not merely play the role of a kingmaker in the state. "Not kingmaker, people will bless me as a king, that full confidence is there," he had said. It seems he had a premonition about the results.

Although the Karnataka Assembly election results made BJP the single-largest party in the state, the Congress is eyeing an alliance with the JDS. They even went ahead and offered the chief minister's post to Kumaraswamy.