Kannada activists protest release of Tamil film Sivaji in Bangalore

Notwithstanding the frenzy among Rajnikant’s fans in Bangalore over the release of Tamil film Sivaji across ten theatres and three multiplexes on Friday, scores of pro-Kannada activists staged a demonstration outside the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) premises yesterday opposing the release of the Tamil film in Karnataka.

Activists of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, who even made a vain bid to lay siege to a theatre that was planning to screen the movie from Friday, accused the management of the film theatres of flouting the guidelines formulated by KFCC that non-Kannada films will be shown in the State only seven weeks after their release elsewhere.

The pro-Kannada activists, who staged a demonstration on Thursday, threatened to attack theatres screening the Tamil movie on Friday itself without observing the seven-week moratorium.

But, distributor of the film in Karnataka H D Gangaraju said the seven week moratorium imposed by the KFCC had been struck down by the Supreme Court. Gangaraju, who was incidentally the President of the KFCC when controversial moratorium was formulated, said the Apex Court had removed such restrictions.

Later, the KFCC, in the interest of Kannada film industry, had facilitated an informal agreement between distributors, theatre owners and Kannada film industry representatives that non-Kannada films should be allowed in a maximum of ten theatres and three multiplexes. “Hence, Sivaji will be released in no more than ten theatres and three multiplexes on Friday”, Gangaraju told reporters.

Gangaraju also claimed that he had spoken to Karnataka Rakshana Vedike President Narayana Gowda and clarified the matter to him. “They were under the impression that the seven-week moratorium is still in force. I have clarified the matter to them and I hope there will be no hurdles for screening the movie in Bangalore on Friday”, he said.

The Kannada outfits’ confrontationist stance towards Sivaji was on expected lines on account of the Cauvery dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile, serpentine queues were found outside the theatres and multiplexes that were planning to screen Sivaji from Friday. Though the film was being released without any publicity after Kannada outfits warned that all publicity about the film should be in Kannada and not in Tamil, large number of Rajnikant fans thronged the theatres for advance booking of the tickets for the show.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka State Rajnikant Fans Welfare Association has decided to maintain a low profile on the occasion of Sivaji’s release in Bangalore due to the charged atmosphere.

“There will be no procession of cut-outs of Rajnikant this time. We don’t want to hurt anyone by taking out such processions”, Association’s President Chandrakant told reporters.

On the occasion of Rajnikant-starrer Chandramukhi’s release in Bangalore last year, his fans had taken out a massive procession comprising 152 cutouts to mark the completion of the 152 films of the Tamil matinee idol.