DMK activists disrupt Kannada film shooting

Udhagamandalam, Mar 17 (UNI) DMK activists, protesting against the final award of Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, disrupted the shooting of a Kannada film at the Botanical Garden here yesterday.

Police said a group of DMK activists disrupted the shooting of the Kannada film '' Mathadu Mathadu Malige'', featuring Vishnuvardhan and Suhasini, for eight hours.

The DMK activists led by party's election wing secretary M Mubarak, district presidium chairman Muthusamy arrived at the location and asked Vishnuvardhan to cancel the shooting and pack up immediately stating that there were protests against release of Tamil films in Karnataka following the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal's final verdict.

As there were no proper security arrangements, the unit packed and left the spot.

When informations about this reached the Tamil film fraternity, the actors Vijayakanth, Sarath Kumar and Prabhu intervened and sought an amicable settlement of the issue.

Later, the shooting resumed with tight security.

Talking to reporters, actor Vishnuvardhan said ''the incident was like a passing cloud. The agitators, who wanted us to cancel the shooting, behaved well. The Cauvery issue is a different matter and the film industry is apolitical.'' Meanwhile, government sources said the state government had instructed the district administration to make necessary security arrangements for the shooting unit and resolve the issue in an amicable manner.

UNI