Bengaluru, Nov 25: Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Saturday said that the body of veteran Kannada actor and Congress leader M H Ambareesh will be kept at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here Sunday for people to pay their last respects.

"The body of actor Ambareesh will be kept at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium from around 8 am tomorrow for people to pay their last respects," he told reporters here.

Ambareesh passed away in Bengaluru. He was 66. The former Union minister was rushed to a private hospital after he complained of breathing problems, sources said.

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In a career spanning over 50 years, Ambareesh has acted in over 200 movies. His roles in several popular films earned him the title of 'Rebel Star'. He debuted with the 1972 film Nagarahaavu, and won the national award in his first film itself.

He was also known by the name 'Mandyada Gandu' after portraying several roles as the 'angry young man.'

In politics, he began his career first with the Janata Dal and became an MP in the 12th Lok Sabha from Mandya itself and later joined the Congress party to represent the same seat on two more occasions. He was also the central Minister of State in the Manmohan Singh government but gave up his ministership over disappointment to the Cauvery Tribunal Award in 2006. He chose to skip the May 2018 Assembly elections in Karnataka citing health concerns.