Bengaluru: A 34-year-old TV serial actor, Tandaveshwara aka Thandav Ram, was arrested by Chandra Layout police in the city for opening fire at a director over a financial dispute in connection with a stalled film.
The incident occurred in the house of a producer in Basaveshwara Colony, near Chandra Layout, Monday evening. Ram is a resident of Nagarabhavi.
Citing preliminary investigation, police said Ram was the lead in ‘Devanampriya', directed by Bharath Navunda. Ram had invested about Rs 6 lakh to shoot the film. Later, they found one Kumaraswamy to produce it. The film shooting was partially done but then stalled a few months ago over payment issues.
Ram was pressuring Navunda to complete the shooting. On Monday evening, a group of 5-6 persons working on the film gathered at Kumaraswamy's house to find a solution.
"Around 8pm, Ram asked me to return the money he had invested in the movie. I told him I had worked for the movie since 2022, and from what he had paid, I paid for the writer and others, and also I took payment for my work since 2022, so the amount couldn't be returned. Ram insisted I get the money for the payments I had made from the producer. He then told me I needn't direct the film and asked me to return his money and leave. When I refused, Ram asked his office boy to bring his gun from the car. The staffer brought the gun, Ram took it and pointed it at my forehead. As he was pressing the trigger, editor Mallikarjun pushed the gun, and the bullet hit the roof of the building," Navunda told the media.
"I immediately walked out and informed other directors about the incident. They suggested lodging a complaint and I did. Police came to the spot immediately, arrested Ram, and seized his gun," he added.
A senior police officer said Ram has a licensed single-barrel breech-loading (SBBL) gun. A case has been booked against him under the Indian Arms Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Section 109 (attempt to murder).
What's the dispute?
According to Navunda, Ram had approached him in 2022 after he completed directing the film ‘Mugilupete'. He told Navunda he had a one-line story and asked him to direct the film. "I told him I would arrange for writers to develop the story, and we did it. We were searching for a producer. We shot ‘Devanampriya' for 25 days in May, but it stopped over payment issues. Later, we got producer Kumaraswamy, and the shooting is yet to restart. Meanwhile, the dispute aggravated," the director said.