Journalist gets death threats from Dhruva Sarja fans

Kannada film 'Pogaru' landed in a fresh controversy when journalist Chiranjeevi Bhat of Kannada daily Hosa Digantha received death threats from people who claimed to be fans of the film's hero Dhruva Sarja on Wednesday.

The development comes a day after director Nanda Kishore apologised to the Brahmin community and agreed to delete 'controversial' scenes from the film. A group of fans protested inside the Kannada Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC), demanding an apology from Chiranjeevi, who had criticsed the film's 'derogatory portrayal of Brahmins'.

On Monday, Chiranjeevi had lashed out at the film in a 17-minute YouTube video that went viral across social media platforms. "The film's team should be ashamed of insulting Brahmin priests and mocking the community's beliefs," he had said.

Fans on Wednesday retorted to Chiranjeevi's outburst by blaming him for instigating the entire controversy. Demanding an apology from the journalist, fans said Chiranjeevi should have approached the Film Chamber if he was upset about the film and addressed the issue with the officials.

Chiranjeevi said on his Twitter account that he received several threatening phone calls from people who claimed to be Dhurva Sarja fans. "As a response to my video that opposed the cinema crew, I am now getting threatening calls from fans," he posted, tagging Bengaluru City Police for help.

"My life is under threat. Dhruva Sarja fans have gathered outside Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce and are threatening to come to attack me," he said in another post. The writer posted many audio files and screenshots of people who gave death threats.

It is learnt that KFCC secretary NM Suresh had called Chiranjeevi for a meeting to settle the issue. Suresh wasn't available for comments.