Kempegowda is Darshan's lucky charm

Bengaluru-founder Kempegowda continues to be an obsession for the film industry. And especially for Darshan, it seems there needs to be a reference in every film. In his recent film Ambareesha, the story itself was about saving 'Kempegowda's Bengaluru' from land sharks. Veteran actor Ambareesh played Kempegowda in the film. Darshan sang and danced away to glory about Kempegwoda.And in his latest under-production film Airavatha, Darshan plays a cop, but Kempegowda is not far away.
We spotted Darshan and the film team shooting at the JDS-office turned Congress building on Race Course Road. The iconic building may have been the bone of contention between the two political parties, but when it comes to film shooting, it is available for all stars. For the sake of shoot ing, the building was turned into 'Kempegowda Nagar Police Station,' for a few days.According to the board put up, it is also the office of the 'Assistant Commissioner of Police, Bangalore South Division.' But Darshan does not play an ACP going by his outfit. The police uniform he wore during the shoot was that of the more senior Deputy Commissioner of Police.
Incidentally, the same building was used as a police station in Darshan's pal Su deep's film Kempegwoda. Then the building sported the name 'Magadi Road Police Station,' in reference to Kempegowda II's rule in Magadi. During the shooting last weekend, we spotted Darshan with veteran actor Anant Nag. While a shot involving the two was being canned, the leading lady of the film Urvashi Rautella was getting ready as the makeup man gave finishing touches to her face. Star comedian Chikkanna seemed to be waiting on her. A lot is riding on Airavatha as Darshan's previous film Ambareesha did not do as well as expected at the box office. Since Sarathi in 2011, Darshan has been riding a huge wave of successful films only to be stopped with Ambareesha. Director AP Arjun gave two blockbusters with Ambari and Addhuri, only to fall back to earth with Raate. He now has the task of putting both his and Darshan's career back on track.