Since dreaded brigand Veerappan abducted film star Dr Rajkumar, work here has screeched to a halt. Theatres, especially in the Old Mysore region including Bangalore city, have shut their doors, shooting of any kind has come to a standstill and the industry is in stupor. Exhibitors wring their hands as losses run into crores of rupees, carefully drawn schedules and call-sheets have gone haywire and at least 20 films have come to a halt in various stages of production. Back-lane operators, whose charges are steep, do most of the financing. As interest on these loans mount, there seems no way out.
Money is well and truly locked in umpteen projects.
Both are now left hanging. Ironically, plans had been laid out for the next Raj-starrer Bhakta Ambarisha which was to have been shot after the veteran s visit to Gajanur. It was speculated that this would have been his last film. He was kidnapped, and the fate of his film is now in Veerappan s hands. The emotional, self-imposed ban applies to the fledgling Kannada television industry too.