Actor Darshan's wife asks police to warn him against 'bad' conduct

Mandya, Feb 9: A youth from Arechakanahalli village of Maddur taluk on Saturday allegedly committed suicide in Bengaluru after his lover got engaged to another man.

The body of the deceased, Darshan, was found hanging from the celising of his room in Bengaluru. According to Darshan's relatives, he was in love with a girl for the past few years.

Darshan had wanted to marry her, much to the chagrin of her parents, it is said.

The girl's parents had allegedly warned him of dire consequences if he did not stay clear from their daughter. In the meanwhile, she got engaged to another man.

Feeling left out, Darshan allegedly ended his life. In the suicide note, Darshan has held his lover and some of her relatives responsible for his death. He has also claimed that his family was facing death threat from her family.

There are rumours that Darshan might have been killed after he refused to stop seeing the girl. Though both the families are from the same community, their financial status, sources said, is different.

According to the relative of Darshan, the girl is a close relative to a former minister from Mandya district.

"There are reasons to suspect that Darshan might have been murdered, and a suicide note may have been planted at the crime spot.

A proper investigation should be conducted to unearth the truth," he said.

Bengaluru, Jan 5: Karnataka Minister for Large and Medium Industries Jagadish Shettar warned of strict action against officers who demand bribe from farmers while acquiring land.

Mr Shettar, who paid a surprise visit to defense, aerospace hi-tech industry layout in Haraluru, Devanahalli in Bengaluru Rural district, warned the officials who demand a bribe for sanctioning compensation funds.

He said, 'Lands have been acquired from farmers for the development of the industrial area. It's the duty of state government to provide compensation to these farmers. Complaints must be registered against officials who demand a bribe for functioning compensation funds.'

Bengaluru, Apr 16: The lockdown in the wake ofthe coronavirus pandemic has turned out to be a deeply painful story for the Kannada film industry.

Schedules have gone awry following the stay-at-home curbs and operators in Sandalwood, as the industry is popularly known as, say about 100 films under production are affected.

They include big budget movies- 'Raja Veera Madakari Nayaka', 'Kotigobba 3', 'Robert' and 'Yuvaratna.'

Noted producer Rockline Venkatesh told P T I that the loss to the industry is to the tune of hundreds of crores of rupees.

In addition, it's a challenge for producers to secure the content of their movies from "piracy and leak" during long periods of time before their release, Venkatesh, who is Secretary of Karnataka Cine Artistes' Association, said.

A leading distributor said even after the lockdown is lifted and situation returns to normalcy, it remains a big question if investment in film business will pay off at all.

"People don't have money. We will know the impact when things become normal. Questions many ask if people will return to cinema halls like the way they did before or they prefer to stay away from crowd."

Venkatesh, who had also produced Rajinikanth-starrer 'Lingaa' and co-produced 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' with Salman Khan in the lead role, said it would take at least one to one-and- half years for the industry to be back on its legs.

"That too if the government does hand-holding but if the industry faces a bad hit in terms of income tax and GST and other taxation, 80-90 per cent of the industry will face closure," he said.

"It does not matter if the government does not help the industry but they should not trouble us with things like IT and GST," Venkatesh, who is also a distributor and artiste, said.

A top director said people's "behaviour" towards movies is crucial for the industry's health in the post lockdown scenario.

"With people likely to shy away from going to malls, cinema theatres because of large gatherings there, it's going to be a long road to recovery for us", an industry insider said.

Striking a philosophical tone, Venkatesh said all that people worry now is to save their life and keep good health, adding, amassing money and wealth is the last thing on their mind.

Producers Soorappa Babu and Umesh Banakar, who is also Vice-President of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, told P T I that the industry has taken a huge hit.

Banakar said the loss to the industry due to the lockdown is at least Rs 1,000 crore.

"The coronavirus has affected the entire world. We don't know what to do; we just have to wait," Soorappa Babu, producer of Kiccha Sudeep-starrer 'Kotigobba 3', said.