"Kannada" activists threaten more agitations, bandhs and violence

Karunada Sene to hold rally at Cauvery
The Asian Age

Bangalore. Nov. 17: Kannada activists have decided to intensify their protest against the screening of non-Kannada films following the screening of the Hindi film Veer Zaara at three city theatres and a theatre in Bellary on Tuesday and Wednesday. The screening of Veer Zaara is being seen by pro-Kannada organisations as a violation of the unofficial three-week moratorium on the release of non-Kannada films after their release in other states.

Volunteers of the newly formed Karunada Sene have decided to hold a rally in front of the Cauvery Theatre which is screening Veer Zaara on Thursday. Chief convenor of the Sene “Agni’ Sridhar told The Asian Age that the rally which will be peaceful, has been organised with the help of other pro Kannada, Dalit and farmer organisations to protest against the “anti Kannada” attitude of some theatre owners in the city. “Our agitation is intended to convince the public that the action by the three theatre owners is aimed at suppressing the pro Kannada movement. Their defiance goes against Kannada interests. We are against this attitude and so this rally,” Sridhar said and claimed that Kannada film producers and artistes have also extended their support to the rally.

The Karnataka Rakshana Vedike is meanwhile planning a huge rally on Friday if Thursday’s meeting called by chief minister Dharam Singh to resolve the crisis in the film industry fails. Vedike president Narayana Gowda told The Asian Age that they have already given an ultimatum to the theatre owners to stop screening Veer Zaara.

“We have worked out several plans which I would not like to reveal now. We are awaiting the outcome of Thursday’s meeting convened by the chief minister. If the theatre owners relent and stop screening the Hindi film, we will withdraw the agitation. If they do not, they will have to face the consequences of adopting an anti Kannada stance,” he said. Mr Gowda claimed that pro-Kannada organisations have more than 50,000 volunteers around the state who are prepared to die for the Kannada cause. “We may even consider calling a bandh if Thursday’s meeting does not elicit a positive response from the theatres,” he added.

The newly elected president of the Kannada Sahithya Parishat prof. Chandrashekhar Patil has in a statement supported the agitational programmes of the Vedike. A delegation of Kannada film producers led by Basanth Kumar Patil met home secretary Brahma Datt and city police commissioner S. Mariswamy to discuss the issues arising from the simultaneous screening of Veer Zaara. Mr Patil told The Asian Age that they were also awaiting the result of Thursday’s meeting. Mr Prakash of the Cauvery Theatre told The Asian Age said that the screening was peaceful on Wednesday and he did not forsee any trouble in the coming days with the police providing adequate security.