Actor Siddharth recently hit headlines after a promotional event of his film Chithha was interrupted in Bengaluru by a bunch of self-styled Kannada activists. Unidentified men were seen storming his press event while the actor hosted a special screening of his film Chithha.
The activists reportedly protested against the Tamil film as it was being promoted in their state amid the ongoing Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The entire episode sparked a debate in the Kannada film industry, with several celebs, including Prakash Raj and Shiva Rajkumar, apologising to Siddharth.
Siddharth breaks silence on Chithha row
Amid the raging conversation, Siddharth took to his social media handle to finally break silence on the entire episode.
During a live session on Instagram, Siddharth stated that the makers had planned to screen Chithha for Kannada stars on Thursday night, but they cancelled it as a "mark of respect" to the Karnataka bandh. He added that though the film's team incurred heavy losses, they were more disappointed by the fact that the film could not be shared with the people of the state.
"Yesterday, in Bengaluru there was an incident. The backstory of it is that this is the first time, as a producer, I screened my film to many ahead of the movie’s theatrical release. It was shown to the media in Chennai and Kochi. There was a plan for such a show in Bengaluru as well. I had plans to show the film to about 2,000 students ahead of the release. No one has done it so far. There was also a plan to screen the film for Kannada stars that night," he shared.
He went on to say, "But everything was cancelled by us 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."
Siddharth then finally addressed the ruckus by activists at his event. He said, "The press was supposed to watch the film after the interaction, but 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."
What is the Chithha press event row?
For the unawares, Siddharth was in Bengaluru on Thursday to promote his upcoming film Chithha, which is releasing in the Kannada market as Chikku.
The promotional event was organised in Malleshwaram where the actor was seen interacting with the media, until a group of unidentified men barged in and stalled the event.
They demanded explanation over how were Tamil stars allowed to promote their films and make money in Karnataka despite the longstanding Cauvery river tussle between the two states.
Siddharth was eventually forced to abandon the event midway and leave the venue.
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