Darshan, Umapathy and a mysterious bank loan

Film producer Umapathy Gowda says he feels cornered by the drama involving actor Darshan, two of his friends, and a woman called Aruna Kumari.

He told Showtime he continues to be on good terms with Darshan, but some people are trying to ruin his reputation and relationship with the star. Umapathy is the producer of the Darshan starrer ‘Roberrt', a big-budget film that became a blockbuster.

“They are trying to defame me. I have confidence in the ongoing police investigation and I hope the problem gets resolved in the right manner,” he says.

Darshan was in the news all week, even before he was accused of beating up a waiter at a Mysuru hotel.

The TV channels followed his every step as he went to complain to the police about a woman who allegedly tried to cheat him and his friends.

The Hebbal police in Mysuru have registered a cheating and extortion case against three persons, following a complaint from Harsha Melanta, a hotelier and Darshan’s friend.

In his complaint, Harsha said Aruna Kumari and two others had demanded Rs 25 lakh from him and accused him of creating forged documents to mortgage properties belonging to Darshan.

The saga began on June 6 when Darshan received a call from film producer Umapathy Gowda, who asked him if he had provided surety to anyone for a loan of Rs 25 crore. Umapathy connected him to Aruna Kumari to talk about it.

Aruna, who introduced herself as a bank manager, allegedly told Darshan that three of his friends: Harsha Melanta, Rakesh Papanna, and Rakesh Kumar, had tried to get a loan, and named him as surety.

At a press conference, Darshan said he had grown suspicious of the woman as she didn't have her identity card with her when she visited his farmhouse in Mysuru. She was there, he said, on the pretext of verifying his assets.

When Darshan learnt that Aruna wasn't a bank employee, the story took another twist. Aruna accused Umapathy of being behind the drama. The producer immediately filed a police complaint against her.

Interestingly, lyricist V Nagendra Prasad and his friend and businessman Nagavardhan said at a press conference that Aruna had previously tried to cheat the latter.