The Bangalore police on November 18 arrested Kannada television actor Tandasvhwara alias Thandav Ram for opening fire at director Bharath Navunda over a financial dispute regarding his stalled film, Devanampriya. According to Navunda’s complaint, Ram had approached him in 2022 to direct Devanampriya, starring him (Ram) in the lead role. The film’s shooting was stalled over payment issues.
To sort out the issue, they met at producer Kumaraswamy’s house in Bangalore on 18th. “Ram asked me to return the money he had invested in the movie,” Navunda said, adding, “I told him, I had worked since 2022, and the money had been spent on the film’s writer and other workers. He then asked me to leave the film and return the whole amount. When I refused, Ram called for his gun. As he was about to pull the trigger, editor Mallikarjun pushed the gun, and the bullet hit the roof.”
Ram has been booked for attempt to murder.