Kannada outfits bare fangs over Tamil film Sivaji’s release in Bangalore

Tamil superstar Rajnikant’s latest film Sivaji, which has generated unprecedented interest all over South India, has run into rough weather ahead of its scheduled release in Bangalore with Kannada outfits threatening to sabotage the screening of the movie if Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce’s restrictions on release of non-Kannada films are flouted.

Karnataka Rakshana Vedike’s President Narayana Gowda told reporters that pro- Kannada activists would lay siege to theatres screening Tamil film Sivaji and seize the prints if the film is released in more than four theatres as stipulated by the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce.

With the distributor of the film in Karnataka H D Gangaraju announcing that the film will be released in three multiplexes in Bangalore apart from four stand-alone theatres, the stage appears set for a confrontation between the theatres screening the movie and the agitated Vedike activists.

“We will allow the film to be screened in only four theatres across Karnataka. Also, the film posters and the publicity material should be in Kannada and not in Tamil”, Narayana Gowda said.

The Kannada outfits’ confrontationist stance towards Sivaji was on expected lines not only on account of the Cauvery dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, but also on account of Rajnikant’s position on the Cauvery dispute and the reported portrayal of Kannada personalities in poor light by the film’s director Shankar in his earlier films.

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.

Meanwhile, theatres that are likely to screen Sivaji are swamped by demands from crazy fans for advance booking of the movie tickets. With each fans association entitled to 25 tickets, a total of 43 Rajnikant Fans Associations have reportedly been registered in Bangalore during the last one week.