Faced with Rs 3 cr loan, unfinished film, prominent Kannada director dies by suicide
Bengaluru: Allegedly upset over the rising budget of his debut film and the personal loan of Rs 3 crore he had availed for it, prominent Kannada TV Series Director Vinod V Dhondalay died by suicide on July 20.
His partner and producer of the film, Vardhan Hari of Vriddhi Creation, said they ran into a financial bottleneck, as the film exceeded the originally planned number of shooting days by almost double.
“'Ashoka Blade' is a social drama set in the 1970s. It is written by T K Dayanand and it stars Sathish Ninasam. It was Dhondalay’s dream project and we started the shooting in May 2023. Originally, we planned for 45 days, but we shot for 87 days."
"Our original budget was around Rs 1.5 crore, but we went over it by many times. Now, we needed to reshoot a few scenes as well as a song and a fight sequence. All this required more money", Hari said.
Ninasam, who also partly produces the film under the banner Sathish Picture House, said he did not expect such a turn of events.
"The film is 90 per cent complete. We recently had a discussion and we decided to shoot the remaining bits next month. It would have taken us another 20 to 25 days. It is such a pity. Dhondalay was a gem of a man", Ninasam said.
According to Hari, who said he had dropped him home on July 19 night after a meeting with another producer who was willing to pitch in, when he left Dhondalay looked relieved.
“He was worried because we had already spent a lot of money and the film looked very promising. Lack of money to take the movie further was weighing on him a lot. But we had found a solution and there was someone who was willing to help us finish the remaining shooting. I did not expect to hear the news of his death the very next morning,” said Hari, who has worked with Dhondalay for more than 22 years, producing many TV serials.
Dhondalay is known for his TV serials ‘Karimani’ and ‘Shantam Papam’.
Chandra Layout police station Inspector M M Bharath said Dhondalay’s wife Geetha informed them of the death, and a case of unnatural death has been registered. Further investigations are being conducted.
“According to the FIR (based on the statement by Dhondalay's wife), he had been depressed for some time as he had taken an OD (overdraft) loan of almost Rs 3 crore from Karnataka Bank for the production of ‘Ashoka Blade’,” the inspector said.
He also said Dhondalay had left behind a two-page suicide note, where he had asked for the forgiveness of his wife and children.
Dhondalay is survived by his wife Geetha, two sons and a daughter. His eldest son just completed his Class X exams and scored 99 per cent marks, and his youngest daughter is only eight years old, his friend and producer Hari said.
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UDF leaders see local body poll trends as pointer to 2026 Assembly elections in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Buoyed by the strong performance of the Congress-led UDF in the local body polls, KPCC president Sunny Joseph said on Saturday that the front's results indicated the people had rejected the LDF government.
According to early trends, the UDF was leading in more grama panchayats, block panchayats, municipalities and corporations than the LDF.
The local body polls were held in two phases in the state earlier this week.
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Speaking to reporters here, Joseph said the people of Kerala had extended their support to the UDF.
"We could expose the LDF government’s anti-people stance and the people understood it. The LDF’s fake propaganda was rejected by the people. The UDF is moving towards a historic victory," he said.
He said a united effort, proper preparations, good candidate selection and hard work had resulted in the Congress and the UDF’s victory in the elections.
Asked about the prospects in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, Joseph said the party was studying the matter and would comment later.
LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan said the results would be closely examined.
According to him, the government had done everything possible for the people.
"Why such a verdict happened will be examined at the micro level. People’s opinion will be considered and further steps will be taken," he said.
He added that decisions would be taken after analysing the results. "If any corrective measures are required, we will initiate them and move forward," he said.
AICC leader K C Venugopal said the results showed that people had begun ousting those who, he alleged, were responsible for the loss of gold at Lord Ayyappa’s temple.
"This trend will continue in the Assembly elections as well. It is an indication that the people are ready to bring down the LDF government," he said.
Venugopal said the UDF had registered victories even in CPI(M) and LDF strongholds.
"I congratulate all UDF workers for their hard work. Congress workers and leaders worked unitedly," he said.
Referring to remarks made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan against the Congress on polling day, Venugopal said the voters had responded through the verdict.
"I do not know whether the chief minister understands that the people are against him. Otherwise, he does not know the sentiment of the people. The state government cannot move an inch further," he said.
He said the results indicated a strong comeback for the UDF in Kerala.
Asked whether the Sabarimala gold loss issue had affected the LDF in the local polls, Venugopal said the CM and the CPI(M) state secretary did not take the issue seriously.
"We took a strong stand on the matter. The BJP played a foul game in it," he alleged.
On the BJP's role in the local body elections, Venugopal alleged that the party operated with the CPI(M) 's tacit support.
"The CPI(M) supported the central government on issues such as PM-SHRI, labour codes and corruption in national highway construction. The CPI(M) is facing ideological decline, and the state government’s policies are against the party’s own decisions," he said.
Meanwhile, LDF ally Kerala Congress (M) leader Jose K Mani said the party could not win all the wards it had expected in the elections.
He congratulated winners from all parties and said the party would closely examine the losses and identify shortcomings. "Later, we will take corrective measures," he added.
Senior Congress leader and MP Rajmohan Unnithan said the trends in the local body elections indicated that the UDF would return to power in the 2026 Assembly elections.
"We will win 111 seats as in 1977 and return to power in 2026. The anti-government sentiment of the people is reflected in the elections," he said.
Unnithan said the people were disturbed and unhappy with the present government.
"The trend indicates the end of the LDF government," he added.
CPI(M) MLA M M Mani said the people had shown ingratitude towards the LDF despite benefiting from welfare schemes.
"After receiving all welfare schemes and living comfortably, people voted against us due to some temporary sentiments. Is that not ingratitude," he asked.
Mani said no such welfare initiatives had taken place in Kerala earlier.
"People are receiving pensions and have enough to eat. Even after getting all this, they voted against us. This is what can be called ingratitude," he said.
Muslim League state president Panakkad Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said the results were beyond expectations.
"The outcome points towards the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, indicating that a change of government is imminent. We are going to win the Assembly election," he said.
