Tracing "Golden Star" Ganesh's career through the years

Actor Ganesh completes 15 years as a leading man today. Having been around for almost two decades including his time as a TV personality and supporting actor, Ganesh has donned many hats over the course. From being the funniest man on TV to becoming the 'Golden Star', the journey is filled with moments of both great delight and despair, and for those who aspire to make it big without any solid backing in the industry, Ganesh's career will serve as a definite source of inspiration. So, congratulating the actor on the landmark achievement, let's take a look at the highlights of his career. Here we go.

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Ganesh began his journey in the entertainment industry as an actor in many different television serials before making it big on the hit TV show 'Comedy Time'. Through the success of the show, Ganesh gained immense popularity among the audience with his comic-timing getting prominent notice.

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Despite being a rage on the small screen, a bonafide lead role in cinema eluded Ganesh for a very long time. However, he made impressions with his supporting roles, and thanks to his popularity among the TV audience, Ganesh still got a lot of recognition. He made his film debut in 2002 with B. Suresh's 'Tapori' and followed it up with interesting roles in films like 'Aham Premasmi' and 'Amruthadhaare'. In 2006, Ganesh was finally able to get his due with M.D. Sridhar's 'Chellata' (co-starring Rekha Vedavyas and Devaraj).

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Although 'Chellata' was a huge success in its own right, Ganesh's acting career can still be bifurcated into "pre" and "post" Mungaru Male days. Not only did Yogaraj Bhat's film offer the Kannada Film Industry one of its all-time biggest hits but it also catapulted Ganesh (Yogaraj Bhat) into tremendous glory and fame. The songs of the film are still hummed with pride, the dialogues are still mouthed with the same passion, and the memory of witnessing the mania at the time of its release is still fresh for many. And for obvious reasons, Ganesh's life was suddenly changed overnight.

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A film like Mungaru Male comes only once in any actor's lifetime but with such stellar success also comes along increased pressure. It was imperative for Ganesh to prove that the success wasn't an anomaly and that he was perfectly capable of more such feats - if not the same, at least of similar stature. And so it happened when he collaborated again with director Yogaraj Bhat in the ensemble film 'Gaalipata'. The 2008 film was a mega-hit which further enunciated Ganesh's prominence as an actor and also won him his first-ever Filmfare award in the Best Actor category.

While the journey post 'Mungaru Male' wasn't the smoothest by any means, Ganesh still forged on with authority and made great use of his niche. He managed to deliver hits like 'Cheluvina Chittara (2007)' and 'Ullasa Utsaha (2009)' in that phase.

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With 'Ullasa Utsaha' in 2009, Ganesh was able to venture into newer territories when his wife, Shilpa Ganesh, turned producer with the film. It was apparent that Ganesh was looking to explore new avenues for himself and this was attested when he decided to direct a film. Thus came the 2011 film 'Kool, Sakkath Hot Maga' and Ganesh progressed to become one of the few actors in the industry who took on directorial roles. However, 'Kool' remains Ganesh's only attempt at the craft.

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Having ventured into direction, Ganesh continued his great run as a star attraction and delivered many hits over the course of the 2011-2020 period. With films like 'Romeo', 'Auto Raja', 'Shravani Subramanya', and 'Zoom', Ganesh retained his position as one of the top contenders in the industry and posed a stiff challenge to others through his unique niche. Today, Ganesh stands tall as one of the most sought-after actors in the industry with a slew of projects in the kitty.

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