A recent unruly incident left a bad taste in the mouth of Tamil film actor Siddharth and embarrassed leading Kannada film actors so much that they posted apologies to Siddharth for the behaviour of those who were behind the incident. On 28th September, just a day before the Karnataka bandh (in reaction to the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu), a few members of a pro-Kannada organisation barged into Siddharth’s press conference for his Tamil film, Chithha, in Bangalore and disrupted the event. They questioned the organisers about hosting the screening of a film starring a Tamil film actor.
In fact, before the disruption, Siddharth, who had dubbed the film in Kannada, was addressing the media in Kannada. The actor maintained silence throughout the disruption and then went on to thank the press with folded hands in Kannada for their support before walking out midway.
Siddharth later spoke about the unsavoury incident on an Insta-live session. He said, “I’d screened my film to many, including the media, in Kochi and Chennai. There was a plan to screen the film in Bengaluru, and host a similar show for Kannada (film) actors that night. I had also plans to show the film to about 2,000 students ahead of the release. But everything was cancelled as a mark of respect to the bandh. We incurred a huge loss, but beyond that, it was disappointing that we couldn’t share a good film with people there. You all saw what happened there. It happened in front of many cameras. I don’t want to talk about it. When the film is getting a good response, I don’t want to talk about anything to distract the attention. There’s no relation between my film and the issue. I believe, my social responsibility will show up in the films I make, spending my money.”
Kannada film actors Shivarajkumar and Prakash Raj lost no time in apologising to Siddharth on social media. Posting a video, Shivarajkumar said, “On behalf of my industry, I would like to apologise to Siddharth. I’m deeply saddened by the incident and I assure you, it will not happen again. Kannadigas are warm-hearted and good people. They love all films and languages. Kannadigas are known for embracing diverse cinema.” Prakash Raj wrote on social media, “Instead of questioning all the political parties and its leaders for failing to solve this decades-old issue… instead of questioning the useless parliamentarians who are not pressurising the centre to intervene… Troubling the common man and artistes like this can not be accepted… as a Kannadiga… on behalf of Kannadigas. Sorry #Siddharth.”