By Express News Service
BENGALURU: The pro-Kannada activists have accepted the apology tendered by Tamil actor Sathyaraj and announced that they will not stall the release of the movie Baahubali 2 in Karnataka.
They have also withdrawn the April 28 bandh call. Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, Kannada activist Vatal Nagaraj said, “Tamil actor Sathyaraj has apologised in public. So we have decided to end this here and have withdrawn the bandh call.” Nine years ago, Sathyaraj had referred to Kannadigas in derogatory terms while speaking on sharing of Cauvery waters.
Vatal Nagaraj warned the actor not to take issues related to Karnataka lightly and not make any inflammatory statements in the future.“In such a case, we will ensure that all his films are banned permanently here,” Vatal said.
Earlier in the day, following rumours that screening of Kannada movies had been stopped in Tamil Nadu, Kannada activists expressed their anger by removing posters of Tamil movies in Bengaluru. Vatal Nagaraj even warned, “If they disturb screening of any Kannada movie in Tamil Nadu, the same will be repeated in Karnataka too.”
Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) president Sa Ra Govindu said that reports of Kannada films being pulled out of theatres in Tamil Nadu due to this issue were untrue.
“It is true that some films have been pulled out but that is because of low audience and not any other reason,” he said. He also admitted that Tamil film posters had been pulled down in some areas in Bengaluru despite people being told not to do so.
Bengaluru Police Commissioner Praveen Sood also sought to scotch rumours saying that no Kannada film had been pulled off theatres in Tamil Nadu and asked people not to heed to false information.
