The arrest of popular Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa in connection with a murder case has sent shockwaves across the film fraternity in Karnataka. Darshan, along with 12 others, was taken into custody after the body of Renuka Swamy, 33, was found in a drain in Bengaluru. Mr Swamy had allegedly sent inappropriate messages to Darshan’s co-star and girlfriend Pavithra Gowda.
Reacting to the arrest, Darshan’s colleague and co-actor, Sanjjanaa Galrani, said it was like “doomsday” for the industry.
“This has been a black day for us yesterday, and it’s been like a doomsday for the Kannada industry,” she told NDTV, calling him a “demigod figure in the Kannada industry.”
“People don’t just watch his films, people are out here worshipping him, he is as big as that.”
Putting aside the severity of the charges, Ms Galrani asserted Darshan had a respectful and gentle nature. “He would not even call me by my name while shooting. He would refer to me as ‘ji suniye‘ and ‘amma,’ that is how he represents a woman,” she shared.
Calling him a “soft-spoken gentleman,” Ms Galrani stated that “the way he would talk to any woman, the way he would behave with every woman – there was a scene in the movie where he had to lift me, so he discussed it with me. He has a very beautiful aura around him – the way he talks and respects women.”
Ms Galrani said she was “shocked” upon hearing the allegations against him. “It has completely shocked the guts out of every person in Karnataka,” she said.
Asked about Darshan’s “temperamental nature” and past controversies, Ms Galrani defended her former co-actor. “The person being spoken about in the news and the person that I know feel like two different personalities,” she stated.
“It’s very early to jump the gun,” she said, stressing the importance of due legal process. “When something like this happens with a celebrity, if there is a 5% allegation, it becomes a 500% allegation,” she remarked, adding, “We must respect the legal process and not jump to conclusions.”
Thirteen people, including Darshan and his girlfriend Pavithra Gowda, have been arrested in the murder of Renuka Swamy. The victim’s mother has demanded that Darshan be banned from the film industry and his films’ release be halted in Karnataka.
