British award for actor Darshan: How PR agencies in Karnataka fooled media

coastaldigest.com news network
October 20, 2017

Bengaluru, Oct 20: Kannada film actor Darshan Thoogudeepa hit the headlines during Diwali thanks to an award presented to him in the United Kingdom.

Many television channels and daily news papers in Karnataka reported that the Sandalwood star was officially honoured by the British parliament. Some Kannada TV news channels went on to claim that he was the fourth Indian and first South Indian to be honoured by the British parliament.

An invitation sent by the Indian born British Labour Party MP Veerendra Sharma to Darshan inviting him to the British parliament also went viral on social media. “It’s a great honour and privilege to host you at the House of Commons, on October 19. We’ve decided to felicitate you, for the hard efforts you’ve put in through your movies to promote Karnataka's art and culture,” the MP wrote.

Darshan, who was busy shooting for his upcoming film 'Kurukshetra' in Hyderabad, flew to London on Wednesday and received an award inside the British Parliament.  However, it was not an official award by the British government or parliament.

The event was in fact organised by the Karnataka Business Chamber, a London based NRI group which is striving to promote the art and culture relationships between United Kingdom and Karnataka. It had asked the MP to write to Darshan and invite him.

Shocked by media reports, Virendra Sharma issued press release stating that he had invited the actor in his "personal capacity" to receive an honour in London. “I would like to make it clear that the invitation was issued by me, in a personal capacity,” he clarified.

In a mail to coastaldigest.com, the British MP also said: “Many members of the local community and Kannada diaspora requested that I invite Mr Darshan Thoogadeepa to Parliament.”

Meanwhile, a London based Kannadiga, told coastldigest.com that Darshan was invited for a private event and not a public event sponsored by the British government or parliament. The official awards given by the British government are MBE, OBE, Knighthood and Victoria Cross.

According to him, Public Relations (PR) agencies might have deliberately misled the media in Karnataka. “This was not only paid news but also made news,” he opined.

Unlike Indian parliament, the British parliament’s banquet halls can be hired for a private event for a fee and the host can award his/her guest with an award to please them, he said. 

Comments

Aravind
 - 
Tuesday, 24 Oct 2017

Congrats Darshan,

 

whatever the media said, it is a commendable achievement. Thanks Darshan for making every Kannadiga proud of himself by your achievement

Aravind
 - 
Tuesday, 24 Oct 2017

Darshan Kudos, no information whatsoever could deny Darshan's credibility as a great Actor. Congratulations

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
February 26,2020

Tumkuru, Feb 26: A man was arrested from Azad Nagar area of Anantpur on Wednesday for making derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammed and posting it on social media earlier this month, police said.

He was identified as Atul Kumar alias Madhugiri Modi, a resident of Madhugiri’s Hobali Honnapur village.

According to Superintendent of Police Vamshikrishna teams had been formed to arrest the accused following protests against his video and remarks against Prophet Mohammed in Tumkuru and Madhugiri,

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
coastaldigest.com web desk
June 14,2020

Benglauru, June 14: Even as schools are divided over providing online education, the state Higher Education Department is stressing on continuing online education.

Deputy Chief Minister and Higher Education Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan has stressed the need for digital learning to eliminate educational inequalities.

Taking part in a Webinar on ‘Digitising Higher Education - Challenges and Opportunities,’ organised by the Padmashree Institute of Management, he asked educational institutions to give emphasis to digital learning.

“Digital learning is a means to ensure quality education to all sections of the society without discrimination on the basis of caste, region and religion. This is a solution to eliminate discrimination. Through digital learning, a student in a remote village will also get an opportunity to learn from an experienced and highly qualified teacher.”

In addition to this, students are getting study material in digital form. Keeping these important aspects in mind, all educational institutions should give stress to digital learning without wasting any time,’’ he said.

He, however, admitted that digital learning has its own challenges like - quality internet connectivity, laptops and mobile gadgets.

“We are trying to find a solution to it by raising funds through Corporate Social Responsibility or through government funds,” he said. “We are making efforts to provide 4G network across the State,” he said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
coastaldigest.com news network
August 4,2020

Mangaluru, Aug 4: The Kasaragod district administration has decided to restore the e-pass system for daily commuters between Kasaragod and Mangaluru amid covid-19 crisis. 

As covid-19 cases began to increase in Dakshina Kannada, the Kasargod district administration had unilaterally newly introduced of daily pass system on July 6 for entry and exit from Talapady border. This had inconvenienced hundreds of employees, who visited Mangaluru daily to eke a living. 

The decision to resume the pass system was taken in a video conference of Kerala Revenue Minister Chandrasekharan with officials and elected representatives on August 3.

The minister said the Kasaragod district administration will resume issuing of passes for daily commuters between Kasaragod and Mangaluru. But they should undergo rapid antigen test for every week to renew their passes.

"Similarly, one-time interstate passes will be issued for those who want to take part in marriages, funeral and other functions in both states. Even they should undergo antigen test after returning from the functions,” the minister added.

As per the previous order, daily commuters, especially employees, had to stay in Mangaluru for 28 days before returning to Kasargod. Later, Kerala government relaxed rules on July 23 allowing only bank employees from Kasaragod to travel daily in their private vehicles to their workplace in Dakshina Kannada.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.