At the young age of 28, Ullas Gowda, producer of the children’s film Nirmala and son of noted producer and former KFCC President Ba Ma Harish, passed away on Saturday after completing a trek at Kodachadri Hills.
According to reports, as Ullas Gowda approached the jeep after the trek, his friend Ramesh noticed that he was feeling uneasy. Within moments, Ullas collapsed. Ramesh immediately sought help from passersby and rushed him to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
The untimely demise of Ullas Gowda has left his family, friends, and the Kannada film fraternity in deep shock. At the residence of producer Ba Ma Harish in Vijayanagara, Bengaluru, grief prevails as everyone mourns the loss of a young and promising filmmaker.
A passionate cinema enthusiast, Ullas established Ullas Films with the support of his father. He produced Nirmala, a Kannada children’s film directed by Lohit, featuring nearly 95 percent child artistes below the age of 16. The film received recognition at the 12th Bengaluru International Film Festival, where it won a Special Jury Award.
Nirmala was an experimental film in which five children headed the major technical departments. The 105-minute film highlighted the importance of sanitation and the need for toilets in rural India. It was one of the six films selected by the festival’s Special Jury.
For the past six years, Ullas Gowda had been actively nurturing young talent through Ullas School, where he provided training to aspiring artistes and filmmakers. He dreamed of making meaningful cinema and had already begun carving a niche for himself in the industry.
Adding to the tragedy, Ullas had recently become engaged and was scheduled to marry on December 2 this year.
His sudden passing has deeply saddened everyone who knew him.
May his soul rest in peace.
