Siddharth reacts to ‘Chithha’ press conference disruption in Bengaluru

Actor Siddharth, talking about the incident, said that “cinema is art, and it’s not good for the medium when it gets mixed with politics”

Actor Siddharth took to Instagram on September 29 to speak about his press conference that was disrupted by Kannada activists on September 28. The actor said that “cinema is art, and it’s not good for the medium when it gets mixed with politics.”

“A lot of seniors from the Kannada film industry called me to talk about the incident. I am grateful to them. Even fans from Karnataka have supported me on social media. I am thankful to them as well,” Siddharth said during his Instagram Live.

On September 28, on the eve of the Karnataka bandh called to oppose the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, Kannada activists barged into a press conference being addressed by Siddharth. The actor was in Bengaluru to promote the Kannada version of Chithha. The activists protested that it wasn’t right on the part of the actor to hold a press conference amidst the Cauvery row. Owing to their pressure, Siddharth thanked the reporters and walked out of the press conference.

“I will continue to dub my films in Kannada. In fact, I want to dub in as many languages as possible,” Siddharth said. The actor also said that he incurred losses as a producer when his team wasn’t able to hold multiple screenings of the Kannada version of Chithha in Bengaluru on September 26, the day the city was shut down due to a bandh.

“I had a plan to hold a screening of the film for 1000 school children. I also wanted to show the film to Kannada stars and the media persons as well. We had to cancel all the screenings on the eve of the bandh, and as a producer, it was a loss for me,” he said.

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On September 29, Kannada stalwart Shivarajkumar, speaking at a protest organised by the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) as part of the Karnataka bandh, apologised to Siddharth for the incident.