Amabreesh's 60th birthday bash, a gala affair

Bangalore, May 30 (IANS) Power and glamour came together to celebrate Kannada superstar Ambareesh's 60th birthday bash, which was attended by the likes of Rajinikant, Chiranjeevi and state Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda.

"I can not express in words how ecstatic I am to have such great personalities, who have come to the function, as my friends," said an overwhelmed Ambareesh, who came with his wife, actress Sumanlata.

Organised by the Kannada film industry and Ambreesh's well-wishers, the function took place Tuesday at the Palace Grounds, Mekhri Circle and big names from the film fraternity like Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna, Mohan Babu, Jaya Prada, Kushboo, Ambika, Shatrughan Sinha, Suniel Shetty, Jackie Shroff, Arjun Sarja and Prakash Raj attended it.

Ambareesh's friends from Singapore, Malaysia and Middle East also came for the celebration.

Gowda, who had inaugurated a photo exhibition of Ambareesh Tuesday morning, was also present at the function along with former chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa, union ministers Sushilkumar Shinde and K.H. Muniappa and Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar.

Apart from the celebrities, fans from and around the state came and stayed in the city for three days to celebrate their favourite star's birthday.

Rajinikant said he was proud of his friendship with the legendary actor and added: "He stands for friendship, generosity and uniqueness."

Praising Ambareesh, Chiranjeevi said: "He has a big heart to take any number of friends. The fact that many top stars have assembled here is only to express our great friendship with Ambareesh and in appreciation of his qualitative values. He had also motivated me in recent days when I was undergoing depression."