G.R. Gopinath
Captain Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar Gopinath is an Indian entrepreneur, the founder of Air Deccan, a retired Captain of the Indian Army, an author, and a politician.
After school, he earned a commission in the Indian Army, earning the rank of Captain.
The army life seemed to somehow tie him down. He took early retirement from Indian Army, at the age of 28. Upon retirement from the armed forces, he established an ecologically sustainable sericulture farm; his innovative methods earned him the Rolex Laureate Award in 1996. Next, he started the Malnad Mobikes (Enfield dealership) and opened a hotel in Hassan.
In 1997 he co-founded Deccan Aviation, a charter helicopter service. In 2003, Gopinath founded Air Deccan, a low cost airline; Air Deccan merged with Kingfisher Airlines in 2007. In 2009 he founded Deccan 360, a freight flight business. In July 2013, Deccan 360 was ordered to wind up by the Karnataka High Court order based on petitions filed by Dubai-based United Aviation Services (UAS) and another by M/s Patel Integrated Logistics (PIL) Pvt. Ltd. — seeking recovery of amounts due to them by winding up the company.
In May 2006, he was knighted with "Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur" the civilian award conferred by the French Government. He has received many awards for Air Deccan.
In 2009, Gopinath contested as an independent candidate in Bangalore South constituency at the Lok Sabha elections but was defeated. In 2014, he unsuccessfully contested Lok Sabha elections on the ticket of the Aam Aadmi Party.
The 2020 Amazon Prime Video Tamil film Soorarai Pottru was partly inspired by events from the life of G. R. Gopinath.
After school, he earned a commission in the Indian Army, earning the rank of Captain.
The army life seemed to somehow tie him down. He took early retirement from Indian Army, at the age of 28. Upon retirement from the armed forces, he established an ecologically sustainable sericulture farm; his innovative methods earned him the Rolex Laureate Award in 1996. Next, he started the Malnad Mobikes (Enfield dealership) and opened a hotel in Hassan.
In 1997 he co-founded Deccan Aviation, a charter helicopter service. In 2003, Gopinath founded Air Deccan, a low cost airline; Air Deccan merged with Kingfisher Airlines in 2007. In 2009 he founded Deccan 360, a freight flight business. In July 2013, Deccan 360 was ordered to wind up by the Karnataka High Court order based on petitions filed by Dubai-based United Aviation Services (UAS) and another by M/s Patel Integrated Logistics (PIL) Pvt. Ltd. — seeking recovery of amounts due to them by winding up the company.
In May 2006, he was knighted with "Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur" the civilian award conferred by the French Government. He has received many awards for Air Deccan.
In 2009, Gopinath contested as an independent candidate in Bangalore South constituency at the Lok Sabha elections but was defeated. In 2014, he unsuccessfully contested Lok Sabha elections on the ticket of the Aam Aadmi Party.
The 2020 Amazon Prime Video Tamil film Soorarai Pottru was partly inspired by events from the life of G. R. Gopinath.
