Critically acclaimed Kannada movie Balekempa, which was scheduled to be screened at the Dharmashala International Film Festival (DIFF) has been dropped following an anonymous allegation of sexual assault against the director Ere Gowda.
Balekempa deals with the life of a bangle seller and his wife in a patriarchal society. Ere Gowda has also worked as the screenwriter for another critically acclaimed movie Thithi.
On Tuesday evening, a woman posted an anonymous account of her friend’s experience with the director Ere Gowda. However, director Ere Gowda was not available for a reaction.
It has also been reported that the producers of "Balekempa" withdrew the film from the Mumbai Film Festival after the allegation of sexual harassment surfaced against the filmmaker.