Darshan Thoogudeepa: The Indian film star arrested in fan’s murder case

Darshan Thoogudeepa, a famous person of the Kannada-language movie trade within the southern Indian state of Karnataka, has been beneath arrest for the previous 10 days in reference to a criminal offense that resembles the plot of a film.

He’s amongst 17 individuals picked up by the police for the homicide of Renukaswamy – a 33-year-old fan of the actor – after his physique was recovered from a drain.

Earlier this week, Bengaluru metropolis Police Commissioner B Dayananda stated Renukaswamy was “killed in a really brutal and barbaric approach” and described it as a “heinous crime dedicated in a horrific method ”.

Police stated they consider the 47-year-old actor was indignant with Renukaswamy, who labored for a pharmacy firm, as a result of he had allegedly despatched lewd messages on social media to Pavithra Gowda, an actress who has been described within the Indian press as Darshan’s girlfriend. She is amongst these arrested.

The fees in opposition to the suspects embrace “homicide, kidnapping, destruction of proof and legal conspiracy”.

Darshan is in jail and has not commented on the allegations however his lawyer Ranganath Reddy instructed the BBC that in their conferences, the actor denied the fees in opposition to him.

“These are mere allegations in the mean time,” he stated. “The police haven’t any direct proof in opposition to Darshan. It’s a case of circumstantial proof.” Mr Reddy additionally known as claims that Pavithra was married to Darshan “a blatant lie”.

Thought to be probably the most bankable star of the Kannada movie trade, Darshan has starred in about 60 movies and plenty of of them have been big hits.

“He’s the largest star within the Kannada movie trade, with an enormous fan following. His face is plastered behind auto-rickshaws and new releases of his movies see followers pouring milk on his hoardings,” says movie critic S Shiva Kumar.

Kannada movie producer Yogish Dwarakish says Darshan is “one actor who can assure you a rare opening”.

“His movies launch in 600-700 screens in 400 theatres. His followers worship him. He’s a star who delivers each single time. His newest, Kaatera, grossed greater than 1bn rupees ($12m; £9.4m) and was a mammoth hit.”

Studies say he prices 200-250 million rupees for a task – a determine unparalleled within the native movie trade, the place movies normally have small budgets and a majority don’t even get launched within the neighbouring southern states.

So, it’s not shocking that since 11 June – when the police turned up on the lodge in Mysuru metropolis the place Darshan was staying whereas taking pictures for Satan, his newest movie – his dramatic arrest and the aftermath proceed to make headlines within the state.

Formally, police are usually not giving out any particulars of what – if any – proof they’ve in opposition to the actor and the opposite suspects, however the native press have reported fantastical allegations, attributing them to police sources.

Blurry CCTV footage has been proven on TV channels, with reporters claiming that it reveals Renukaswamy’s abduction.

Particulars from what’s being described because the deceased man’s autopsy have been mentioned threadbare and the press went right into a frenzy after studies that the footwear Darshan wore on the night time of the homicide have been present in his spouse Vijayalakshmi’s home, forcing her to acquire a restraining order in opposition to the press.

Darshan’s non-public life has additionally been put beneath the scanner, together with his relationship together with his spouse Vijayalakshmi and his reference to Pavithra Gowda – and tales of his previous behaviour are being repeated on information and social media.

A post from January on Pavithra’s Instagram account, which talks a couple of 10-year-long relationship with the actor, has gone viral since their arrest.

Darshan is the son of actor Srinivas Thoogudeepa, who turned “very fashionable and profitable taking part in unfavourable roles” within the Nineteen Seventies.

Producer Yogish, who has recognized Darshan for 3 many years now, says the actor noticed numerous hardship in his formative years after his father died, leaving the household in penury.

His first job was with a cinematographer, working as a part of the lighting crew on the units for 150 rupees a day.

However “the strapping younger man with an imposing presence” was suggested to step in entrance of the digital camera and he began doing small roles in movies and TV, says Mr Shiva Kumar, including that his large break got here in 2002.

“He burst into the limelight with Majestic – a movie the place he performed a loveable thug, an anti-hero, that catapulted him to fame and made him right into a star.”

It additionally received him legions of followers, says Muralidhar Khajane, movie critic and creator of a e book on Kannada cinema. “He turned a hero for these from the marginalised sections of society. They recognized with Darshan”.

In his early years, he was “humble, hardworking and disciplined”, says Mr Yogish, who labored intently with him on a movie in 2005-2006. “On the time, I predicted that he’d change into the darling of the lots. And he did.”

His movies, Mr Shiva Kumar says, have been “very run of the mill”, his roles repetitive and his performing was “wood”, however he constructed a profitable profession taking part in an motion hero.

“In lots of his movies, his character was the underdog, with a again story that was used as a justification for him taking legislation into his fingers”.

And for over a decade, Darshan dominated the trade, together with Kichcha Sudeepa and Puneeth Rajkumar, the opposite two large Kannada stars.

As he continued to ship hit movies, his followers affectionately nicknamed him “D-Boss” [the boss] and a “difficult star” – as a result of “nothing got here simple to him, every thing was a problem”, Mr Yogish says.

However, Mr Khajane says, “he couldn’t handle this stardom and did not know the way to behave when success got here to him”.

The actor was arrested in 2011 and spent 4 weeks in jail after Vijayalakshmi accused him of home violence. News reports from the time quote her police complaint as saying that Darshan assaulted her, threatened her with a revolver and burnt her with cigarette butts.

“Regardless of her very seen accidents, the trade and his followers continued to assist him. His movie Saarathi, which launched whereas he was in jail, turned an enormous hit.”

He was launched after his spouse withdrew the case in opposition to him, some say in a truce brokered by the trade.

“After he got here out, he travelled across the state on a type of thanksgiving tour, apologising to his fans. He stated, ‘Please forgive me, I’ve set a nasty instance’,” Mr Yogish remembers.

Mr Khajane says after the episode, some within the trade “who had supported him earlier began distancing themselves from him”, but it surely didn’t have an effect on his success on the box-office.

And regardless of the grievous accusations he’s going through now, the response within the trade has been muted, with only a handful of actors talking overtly in regards to the case.

Mr Khajane says in some circumstances, the rationale behind the silence could also be industrial curiosity.

“The trade is quiet as a result of 1.5bn rupees is driving on him. If he goes to jail, three of his films should be delayed or shelved. To allow them to’t afford to ban him.”

Mr Yogish admits that Darshan’s arrest is “an enormous loss for the trade” and says requires a ban are untimely since “he’s nonetheless being investigated and a person is harmless till confirmed responsible”.

“My solely request is let there be a authorized trial, not a media trial. I’m not saying he’s harmless, however Darshan is being painted as a villain, he’s being pronounced responsible even earlier than a trial.”