New Delhi:
After the 2nd installment of SS Rajamouli's 'Baahubali' faced a massive protest against its release in Karnataka, actor Sathyaraj, the king of that particular controversy comes up to explain his comment on Kannadigas made nine years back.
Pro-Kannada group has called for a boycott of the film in the state on Thursday accusing Sathyaraj of insulting Kannadinas describing them as 'dog' in a comment he made nine years ago on Cauvery River issue between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
So Sathyaraj aka Kattappa expressed regrets over his words and apologised to ensure a smooth release of 'Baahubali: the conclusion' in Karnatka.
Apologising for his words the 'Baahubali' fame said , "Nine years ago, Tamilians were attacked in Karnataka over the Cauvery water dispute.There were protests demanding that the screening of Tamil films be stopped in that state. To condemn such calls, the Tamil film fraternity had organised a meeting, and many had expressed their anger. I was one among them... I understand that some of the words that I had uttered then have hurt the sentiments of the Kannadigas... In the past nine years, 30 films of mine, including Bahubali: The Beginning, were released in the state. There were no problems. I was even approached to act in Kannada films, but I couldn't take them up because of other commitments.Since the protesters, who have watched my nine-year-old speech on YouTube, feel that my words hurt their sentiments, I express my heartfelt regret".
"I'm a very small worker in a very big film called Bahubali. I do not want the work and money of thousands of people go waste because of my words. Moreover, I have a responsibility to protect the interests of the distributors and exhibitors who have bought the rights of the film in Karnataka... My humble request to the people of Karnataka is to accept my apology and allow the release of the film in their state", the actor further added.
However, along with his regrets over his words his stand point for Tamilians was clear too.
Supporting his Tamil friends for one more time the actor said, "I want to make it clear that be it the problems of the Tamil Eelam, the Cauvery issue, the farmers' struggle or any other protest by the Tamil people, I will continue to lend my voice. If producers feel that this stance of mine might lead to problems for their films in the future, I request them not to cast this small, ordinary actor in their films and suffer losses because I consider it a matter of pride to live and die as a Tamilian more than as an actor".
Though the 62-year-old actor took that instant step to secure the market of the movie some other reasons behind banning the movie are also flying on the air.
According to a latest source this sudden uprising controversy regarding Sathyaraj's nine year old comment is nothing but a excuse to stop the release of the movie in Karnatka.
"Baahubali: The Beginning released in 2015 and there was no problem then. Why is the issue being brought up now? In fact, the film did really well in Karnataka and had a successful run for weeks. Given its success, some of the theatres could not accommodate many Kannada language films that released around that time. May be they are expecting similar situation this time also, and that’s why they are trying to stop the film from encroaching the market of their local films", the souce said.
Even a local popular distributors's wish to distribute the film in the state was rejected by the makers and this may be a big fat reason to create such a scene ahead of 'Baahubali 2' release.
Now all we can say is the Kannada outfits who are going to clear their stand on Saturday regarding the release of the movie will play the crucial role to decide the fate of 'Baahubali 2' in the state.
