Actors Caught in Political Crossfire

Siddharth was in Bengaluru to promote his latest film Chithha. On Thursday, as he was about to address a press conference at the SRV Theater in Malleshwaram, few members of the Kannada Rakshna Vedike barged into the press conference and disrupted the proceedings. They criticized Siddharth for his failure to acknowledge the ongoing Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. They argued that addressing the water dispute should take precedence over a film promotion.

Members of the Kannada Rakshna Vedike barged into Siddharth’s press conference and disrupted the proceedings. They argued that addressing the Cauvery water dispute should take precedence over a film promotion. Even while the organisers tried to pacify them, their efforts went in vain. The actor was forced to leave the press conference.

Siddharth remained quiet. Although he attempted to resume speaking with the media later, his efforts proved futile as the activists pressed him to voice his support for the Cauvery Movement.

The members of Rakshna Vedike also told the organisers to end the press conference and demanded Siddharth to support the ongoing Cauvery protest. Even while the organisers tried to pacify them, their efforts went in vain. Siddharth was forced to leave the press conference.

The incident has drawn considerable attention on social media, with many deeming it to be unfortunate while they rallied behind Siddharth.

Prakash Raj says this is unacceptable

Hours after this happened, actor-politician Prakash Raj apologised to Siddharth on behalf of his people over the incident. In his long tweet, he further stated that troubling common man and artists cannot be accepted. Prakash Raj wrote on X, “Instead of questioning all the political parties and its leaders for failing to solve this decades old issue... instead of questioning the useless parliamentarians who are not pressurising the centre to intervene... Troubling the common man and Artists like this can not be accepted.. as a Kannadiga .. on behalf of Kannadigas. sorry #Siddharth #justasking.”

This is not the first time that films have become collateral damage in the Cauvery dispute. SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali 2 and Rajinikanth’s Kaala have faced similar obstacles. Pro-Kannada groups had threatened to stop the screening of Baahubali 2 in Karnataka due to actor Sathyaraj's controversial comments during past Cauvery protests. It was only after Sathyaraj's apology that the film saw an untroubled release in the state.

Kaala also experienced hurdles in Karnataka due to political sensitivities and Rajinikanth's statements on the Cauvery issue, which were made during ‘Silent Protests’ by the Nadigar Sangam in Chennai in 2018. Likewise, Rajinikanth’s 2008 film Kuselan encountered resistance in the state following the actor’s comments on the Cauvery issue, but was eventually released without incident after Rajinikanth expressed regret for his remarks.

Why protesters target films

Multilingual actor Adithya Menon describes Siddharth’s incident as ‘unfortunate and sad’ because actors have no influence over political or administrative issues relating to the kind of reason for which this event was disrupted. He further says that he can understand (though he doesn’t agree with the methods) as to why the protesters chose a movie-related (Siddharth’s press conference) event to create noise. “There have been numerous protests across the country ranging from farmers to wrestlers crying out for our attention but most of it goes unheard, but the public at large take notice when it is a celebrity that is affected. Politicians won’t care less with these disruptions, it does not affect them and all this serves is to harm the filmmakers,” says Adithya.

However, the actor shares that it is not his place to comment on sensitive and emotional topics like the Cauvery water sharing issue. “I don’t know who is right and who is wrong. The courts and experts have the last say and none of us in the entertainment industry can or should interfere,” he comments.

Holding a press conference is Siddharth’s fundamental right. The protestors can request the actor to empathise with them but have no right to disrupt or enforce anything. It is an actor’s prerogative whether to comment or not but you cannot impose — Professor K. Nageshwar, Former MLC and political analyst

Had Siddharth been an actor-politician, or made any political comments on the Cauvery issue earlier, then it would have been a different thing. But he hasn’t, so his press conference should not have been disturbed. The incident is totally uncalled for — N. Ramchander Rao, Former MLC