The never-ending controversy

Members of the Karnataka Film Producers’ Association are eager to solve the issue as it has tarnished the image of the producers in the film industry. The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) and the Kannada Cinema Artists’ Association are working overtime to resolve the crisis.  

There are a couple of issues raging in the Kannada film industry and the present crisis between Ramya and Ganesh has prompted a lot of people to share their bitter experiences in the industry. What has upset the top brass of the KFCC is that Ganesh being the secretary, chose to go to the media to express his disgust about the issue rather than approach the chamber and solve the issue.

Metrolife spoke to a few senior artists in the Kannada film industry and sought their views on the crisis.

President of the KFCC Basant Kumar Patil thinks that Ganesh was wrong in going to the media to talk about his problems with Ramya rather than try to solve it within. “We are going to ban the artists from talking to the media when there’s a crisis in the industry.
Ganesh was branded as a vanchaka (a cheat) by somebody on TV and that’s when everything went out of control. We will discuss the issue within the chamber and arrive at a solution,” Basant Kumar Patil said.

Producer Sa Ra Govindu pointed out that such problems were common in the film industry. “Lending and borrowing money is part of the show business but here the two people in question seemed to have had a strained relationship,” he said. Govindu further observed, “Ganesh has to repay the amount he borrowed and then we would request Ramya to come and promote the film.”

Govindu recalled that Ramya’s remuneration of Rs 27 lakh was paid to her in full. “The amount borrowed can actually be returned anytime before the film is released but here the issue seemed to have gone out of hand,” he added. When asked about the producer’s decision to boycott Ramya.

“The question of boycotting doesn’t arise here at all,” he said. What about the issue of no artists acting in Ganesh’s films? “Ganesh can’t be singled out like that,” he said.

 Jayamala too didn’t hesitate to express her angst. “It was wrong that Ganesh didn’t return the money on time. He also spoke to the media instead of trying to solve the issue and he did everything to tarnish Ramya’s image. That was wrong,” Jayamala said. She also confessed that she has lent Rs one and half lakh to Ganesh which he hasn’t bothered to return till now. “The chamber has not found a solution to my case and they haven’t even made an attempt to find a permanent solution to these kind of problems. That’s why it keeps recurring,” she observed.

She added, “Ganesh must first resign from his post and adhere to the rules and he must bear the consequences of his actions.”