Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah on Tuesday claimed that some BJP lawmakers and party workers were pressurising theatres to stop showing Puneeth Rajkumar's posthumous movie James and play The Kashmir Files instead.
The BJP has denied this claim.
Speaking to reporters in Vidhana Soudha, Siddaramaiah said Kishore Pathikonda, the producer of James, met him on Monday night. "He complained that in several places, BJP MLAs and workers were mounting pressure to stop James from being screened saying they want The Kashmir Files to be played," he said.
James is the last movie of Puneeth, whose death in October last year came as a rude shock to his fans.
"The makers of the film have already booked theatres and paid an advance. Stopping the screening of James to show The Kashmir Files' amounts to harassment," he said.
Siddaramaiah also urged the government to make James tax-free just like it had done for The Kashmir Files.
The Congress leader said Puneeth, or Appu as he was fondly known, enjoys a large fan following in the state. "His fans are lining up to watch his last movie. I oppose efforts by BJP legislators to stop its screening," he said, adding that he would speak to the lawmakers who are asking theatres to stop screening James.
"People interested in The Kashmir Files are free to watch the movie. But, stopping the screening of one movie and forcing people to watch another is not right," Siddaramaiah said.
BJP national general secretary CT Ravi denied Siddaramaiah's charge.
"Appu is the son of this soil. No such incident has taken place," Ravi told DH.
"The Kashmir Files is a historical film depicting a harsh reality. There's really no comparison between this film and James," Ravi said, hitting out at Siddaramaiah for "creating" a controversy. "Siddaramaiah is quite intelligent when it comes to these things."
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