Shivarajkumar not for bandh

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Bengaluru: Noted Kannada actor, Shivarajkumar expressed his severe dissatisfaction over the ‘Karnataka Bandh’ that has been called on December 31 by over 35 Kannada organiations. The groups are pushing the State Government to ban Maharashtra Ekikarana Samiti after it desecrated the statue of Sangolli Rayanna and damaged over 25 government vehicles in Belagavi city recently.

The Kannada icon told the media in Mysore that three movies were slated to be released on December 31. Calling for the State bundh would affect the interest of the Kannadigas themselves, he said. Besides the bundh would cause inconvenience to the general public Dr Shivarajkumar said “there are people to deal with such issues, it is not a good idea to give the statewide bundh call on December 31 as it would go against their own interests.” Another Kannada actor, Yash too is not in favour of the State bundh being observed on December 31 as the people tend to celebrate on that day, he said. Earlier on Friday, the Karnataka Film Chamber is said to have opposed the Dec 31 bundh and had decided to extend its moral support rather than participating in it. The chamber office-bearers said that the Kannada film industry was recovering just now after two years of bad days due to the Covid pandemic. Besides, the Government had given permission for 100 per cent capacity in cinema halls, multiplexes and single screen only recently after the decline in the corona positive cases. Under these circumstances, calling for observing the State bundh would affect the release of three new movies on the last day of the 2021, they said.