Ganesh rewinds to ’99

Ganesh’s next release, 99, is special to him on many levels. For starters, it is a film that gives him a break from the formulaic commercial flicks he is used to doing. It also reunites him with good pal, director Preetham Gubbi, and, most importantly, marks two decades of his friendship with the filmmaker. And given that 99 is a film that dwells heavily on nostalgia (and lost love), it was nice to get Ganesh to go on a trip down memory and tell us what the year 1999 means to him.
“It was the year that I had caught the acting bug and joined Adarsha Film and TV Institute near Coles Park. I remember walking into class and, instinctively, heading to the back bench, where I was joined by Preetham, and two others. Of course, at the time, I had no idea who Preetham was, but we discussed our common love for films, and how I wanted to become an actor and he a director. It was much later that he let in on the fact that he was the grandson of theatre director and artiste Padmashree Gubbi Veeranna,” says Ganesh.

The one year that the duo spent on their diploma programme at the institute was as much about having fun as learning the craft. “We had a set routine as far as movie watching went. Every Friday and Saturday, we would cut class and head to KG Road to catch the latest releases. On the other days, after class, we would either head to the Bangalore University campus to play cricket, take turns to treat the gang to biryani at a joint near the institute or indulge in gup shup while having cutting chai at a tea stall near the Devaiah Park Railway Station,” adds the actor.
But those were the days before mobile phones. “So, we had to plan our trips well. Preetham and another classmate, Kiran, had bikes and they would pick up and drop me off at, say, the Malleswaram bus stop at a particular time, which also meant that we were a lot more punctual,” laughs Ganesh, adding that he thinks of the year 1999 rather fondly. “It was a formative year for me, as far as my career as an actor goes, but it was also the start of a beautiful friendship that has endured two decades and is still going strong,” Ganesh signs off.