Bengaluru, 15 June

Three days after the arrest of actor Darshan, barring a couple of reactions, the Kannada film fraternity is still hesitant to either condemn publicly or come in support of the star.

In the resounding silence, actor-producer-policitian Ramya aka Divya Spandana’s stance on the murder accused, calling him a ‘habitual offender’, reverberates louder.

In a recent interview to a television channel on the influence Darshan holds, Ramya claimed that the clout being attributed to him is overrated. “In the past he did, but I don’t think he does anymore the way we are hyping him up. For example, he campaigned for a couple of candidates in the last election and all of them lost. So, I don't think, just because you see people standing outside the police station, it doesn’t mean he has that kind of clout,” she added.

She also said Darshan is notorious for having “rowdy elements” as fans, therefore grabbing all the attention.

Earlier, she had posted a message on X congratulating the Karnataka police. “Great job by @DCPWestBCP S Girish, ACP Chandan Kumar & their team for the fearless investigation & arresting this habitual offender @dasadarshan who is the conspirator for a murder. No one is above law,” she posted.

Meanwhile, actor Sanjjana Galrani is going to town with her support to the star claiming that he is just an accused, not the culprit. To a YouTube channel, Galrani claimed that when she learnt about the arrest via Instagram, she felt extremely shocked. She called June 12 “a black day” for the Kannada film industry.

Calling Darshan a box office king, she also expressed her belief that he will be proven innocent because she knows “what kind of person he is”. “It’s very early to jump the gun. When something like this happens with a celebrity, if there is a 5% allegation, it becomes a 500% allegation,” she added.

She also urged people not to speculate over perceived ‘bad qualities’ of a person and let police and law do their job and bring real justice to the victim. “Just as being a celebrity is a great opportunity, it is also a curse. We celebrities face big challenges like this,” she added.

Incidentally, Galrani was arrested by Karnataka police’s Central Crime branch on September 8, 2020, in connection with an investigation into a drug racket involving Kannada film industry.

Actor Ragini Dwivedi was also arrested in the same case. Galrani was granted bail after three months in prison.

Meanwhile, some netizens are objecting to Kannada Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC)’s statement that they “cannot ban” Darshan. They pointed out that in 2011, when Darshan was arrested on charges of domestic violence, his co-star Nikita Thukral, was promptly banned by Kannada Film Producers’ Association for purportedly having an affair with the murder accused.

In a BBC report dated 12 September, 2011, then president of the association, Munirathnam had come on record that if Thukral “apologises for her behaviour and says she will just work in films and not get involved in domestic affairs of fellow actors, we will withdraw the ban”.

He had also said the ban, a first for the Kannada film industry, would be a “lesson for others”. Thukral, who had also acted in films in other regional languages like Tamil and Telugu, had denied having an extra-marital affair with Darshan.