Footwear flung at actor Darshan; Kannada stars condemn insult

Support poured in from many quarters for actor Darshan after a slipper was flung at him at a film promotion event here on Sunday.

Shivarajkumar, Jaggesh, Anu Prabhakar, Sharan and a host of other stars condemned the incident on Monday. The police are analysing footage, and have formed a special team to find the culprit.

Thousands of fans had gathered to catch a glimpse of Darshan and the cast of his film Kranti, due for release on January 26.

A group claiming to be Puneeth's fans tore some banners as soon as Darshan appeared on the stage to release a song from the film. They displayed Puneeth posters and danced on a bus brought in for the film’s promotion. Darshan reminded them that Puneeth was against fan wars, but they ignored him. In the melee, an unidentified person hurled a shoe at Darshan. "It's okay, let's continue," Darshan said.

But actor Rachita Ram abruptly stopped her speech. The team released the song in a hurry amid the commotion and left.

Earlier, Darshan had garlanded a statue of Puneeth. Some reports suggested the slipper attack was in response to Darshan's "sexist" remarks in a recent interview.

"We have seized a lorry, mic and speakers used for the event without permission," Shrihari Babu, superintendent of police, told DH.

What they said

Actor Shivarajkumar tweeted: "The attack on Darshan in Hosapete has pained me. Such incidents cause pain to all of us living like a family."

Jaggesh, actor and MP, said, "Don't insult artistes like this... Darshan is outspoken, his heart is childlike."

Ramya, actor and former MP, cited some abusive fan tweets, and cautioned, "All fan clubs must maintain decorum."