The Kannada film industry is divided over Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar's alleged threat to the film fraternity that he would "fix" them for skipping the inauguration of the 16th Bengaluru International Film Festival (Biffes) held last Saturday.
Shivakumar, who was visibly upset over the absence of industry bigwigs at the event, openly expressed his disappointment and said, "I know how to tighten their nuts and bolts."
During his speech, the Congress leader further alleged that unlike in the past, Sandalwood was no longer involved in the causes related to the state's interest.
"A few years ago, we had taken out a 150-km long Mekedatu padayatra -'Namma Neeru, Namma Hakku' (our water, our right) to draw attention to the drinking water crisis of Bengaluru. Except for Sadhu Kokila and (Duniya)Vijay, nobody from the Sandalwood had turned up. Today, once again, only a handful of the people from the industry are here for the festival. This is not a private event of either Siddaramaiah or mine. This is a film industry programme, meant for actors, directors, producers and technicians. You may take it as a warning or a request. If the government does not co-operate and deny permission for shooting, you can make no films. I, too, know how to tighten the nut and bolt. So, kindly understand this," said Shivakumar.
#WATCH | Bengaluru: On his 'nuts and bolts' comment,
— ANI (@ANI) March 4, 2025
Karnataka Dy CM DK Shivakumar, " We may not be right and polished...let me rectify it. I am not God, so if I have done anything wrong, I will rectify it but I am speaking in the best interest of the (film) industry. I am also… pic.twitter.com/bwiSWnF4jW
The statement created a political furore with even the opposition parties accusing Shivakumar of threatening the film fraternity.
"Does DCM think the film industry is the slave of the Congress party? If Ambareesh were to be alive, he would have given Shivakumar a befitting reply," said Leader of Opposition R. Ashok.
Union minister and JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy said the voters who gave the mandate to Congress also knew how to tighten the nuts and bolts of those who cross the line.
On Tuesday, Shivakumar, who also holds the Bengaluru Development portfolio, countered his critics saying that he was not the one who spoke "colourful words" and believed in straight talk.
"I only spoke out for the good of the industry. I am also part of that industry. I used to run a touring talkies named after Indira Gandhi. Today, I own 23 screens in Bengaluru. Sandalwood has grown taller than Bollywood due to a couple of films and is striving to match Hollywood standards. Some people are working hard to achieve that. I, too, hope that Kannada films reach greater heights. I only urged them to save the Kannada film industry as it is dying. Perhaps, my language was colloquial," said Shivakumar defending his earlier statement.
Actor-turned-politician Ramya (Divya Spandana) in her Instagram post stated that Shivakumar was not "entirely wrong".
"As actors, we have a considerable impact on public and it is imperative we lend our voice to the causes we believe in. Whichever side you may lean towards, dialogue is essential for democracy," she said.
Citing the example of Rajkumar, who had lent his support to the Gokak agitation, Ramya said it was the artiste's prerogative whether or not to lend their voice to a cause.
She, however, added that they should not be threatened to do so under any circumstances.
"Most friends are vocal about their opinions in person but shy away from making public statements as they are subjected to trolling and their work gets affected, too. Actors have become soft targets for politicians and I urge our leaders to refrain from issuing threats and bullying them," said her post.
Film director T.S. Nagabharana took exceptions to Shivakumar's choice of words, saying they were "inappropriate" and reflected the deputy chief minister's "culture".
In a veiled dig at Film Academy president Sadhu Kokila, he said, "In the past, we used to visit people's houses to personally invite them for the festival at least a week in advance or call them as we considered it as one big family. The current organisers need to introspect."
Rajya Sabha MP and Kannada actor Jaggesh expressed his angst over the "lack of unity" in the Kannada industry.
"The festival inauguration was at 7 pm and we got the invitation at 6 pm. Moreover, there is no unity and no conversations and the film artists association has vanished. For an industry inching towards death, and missing the bolt, it is no use trying to tighten (fix) it," the veteran actor wrote on X.
National award-winning film director Girish Kasaravalli said he did not go to the festival as the organisers had not sent him an invitation, though one of his films Ghatashraddha was being screened at the festival.
Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce president M. Narasimhalu justified Shivakumar's statement and said the film fraternity should have attended the event.
Actor-director-writer Chakravarthy Chandrachud alleged there was dirty politics being played out in the state film academy and there were issues in the selection of films and awards.
"None of us got any invitation even on WhatsApp. Has Sadhu Kokila given the invitations to top heroes Kicha Sudeep,Yash and Upendra? The politicians want mileage out of the film fraternity. That is the reason the film festival is inaugurated on the steps of the Vidhana Soudha. Both politicians and the film industry need each other. You cannot be a Hitler just because you are in power," charged Chandrachud.
The man who is in the eye of the storm—Film Academy president Sadhu Kokila—defended the deputy chief minister saying there was no need to blow a small issue out of proportion.
"D.K. Shivakumar sir is one of us and he took the liberty to express his disappointment as there was a low turnout from the fraternity," said Kokila who also claimed the invitations had been sent out in time.
"We might have missed giving the invitations to one or two. But everyone knew that the festival would begin on March 1 as we had made the announcement on January 6. I have personally handed over 600 VIP passes to the film chamber to be given to distributors and exhibitors. It was a government programme and not my personal programme. Who should have shown interest in this event?," he asked.
