The actor and the activist

Y. Maheswara Reddy | NT

Chetan Kumar Ahimsa, the actor-activist, is a Fulbright scholar who dazzled Sandalwood when he landed back home. He is also passionately occupied with giving a leg up to the downtrodden and marginalised with his foundation. Y. Maheswara Reddy reports.

Chetan Kumar alias Chetan Ahimsa is certainly one among the well-educated actors in Sandalwood. Chetan Kumar got a Fulbright scholarship to study Indian theatre in 2006. He never knew that he would become an actor. His tryst with Sandalwood began after being noticed by Agni Sridhar, a wellknown writer, critic and artist.

It was the time when debutante director KM Chaitanya was on a hunt for a suitable actor to play an important character in Kannada movie Aa Dinagalu, a crime thriller based on the non-fiction novel Dadagiriya Dinagalu by Agni Sridhar. “Chetan happened to play a role in Kannada play Edegarike. Agni Sridhar has suggested Chetan’s name to me for the key character role in Kannada movie Aa Dinagalu. During the shooting, I did not have any problem with Chetan. He used to be punctual and disciplined and introvert on the sets. There was a little bit of a problem for him to speak Kannada as he had returned from the US,’’ recalls director Chaitanya.

Chetan played the role of the businessman’s son while veteran artiste Girish Karnad played the role of the businessman in the Kannada movie Aa Dinagalu. In the movie, Chetan falls in love with a dance teacher (Archana) but his father opposes their love and seeks the help of Kotwal Ramachandra (Sharath Lohitasva), an underworld don to separate them but in vain.

The movie Aa Dinagalu, released in October 2007, made Chetan a hero in Sandalwood. With the success of Aa Dinagalu at the box-office, there was no looking back for Chetan. His second movie was Raam and the third one was Birugaali. It was his popularity and discipline which made director KM Chaitanya offer the lead role in Kannada movie Suryakanthi that was released in 2010. “Though Chetan acted well in Suryakanti, it did not do well on par with Aa dinagalu at the box office,’’ says Chaitanya, adding that Chetan is well versed in Vachana Sahitya and he always emphasises for equality.

His other movies include Dashamukha, Myna, Noorondu Nenapu, Athiratha and Ranam. Among these movies, Myna has earned him rave reviews from critics. Chetan acted in Ranam along with Chiranjeevi Sarja. The movie released in March 2021 but failed to make a positive impact on the box-office due to various reasons, including Covid pandemic.

Chetan, is not only an artiste but also an activist who champions for equal rights and opportunities for the downtrodden. He had founded – Chetan Foundation – to provide the much needed relief to the needy people during the Covid pandemic. He successfully reached marginalised sections in society such as Dhillekyata community at Pavagada, transgenders at Tiptur and people working at burial grounds and crematoriums in Bengaluru.

It may be recalled that Chetan had also written to the then Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa to regularise the services of around 300 cemetery workers in Bengaluru. He insisted the then Chief Minister give people working at burial grounds and crematoriums medical assistance in terms of vaccines, insurance, beds and payments.

He expressed shock over the plight of the Koraga community in Udupi which is allegedly forced by a section of Hindus to eat nails and hair.

Chetan hogged the limelight for his alleged support to Sruthi Hariharan. He invited the wrath of Arjun Sarja’s fans for supporting Sruthi Hariharan who alleged that she had been sexually harassed by Arjun Sarja during the shooting of the Kannada movie Vismaya.

Chetan is also known for calling a spade a spade. He did not hesitate to seek an apology from BJP leaders for branding him a Naxal for working among Adivasis at Diddahalli village of Kodagu district in 2018. He played a key role in building houses for around 500 tribals at Diddahalli. He found the then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah progressive but took a jab at Congress at the same time (April 2018) criticising the party over not giving opportunities to grassroots workers and those without any money to spend on elections.

He married his fiancée Megha on February 1, 2020 at Sub-Registrar Office, Gandhinagar in Bengaluru.