Sathyaraj Karnataka controversy

SS Rajamouli’s ‘Baahubali 2 – The Conclusion’ was banned in Karnataka as Sathyaraj who plays the role of Kattappa in the movie had made some controversial statements years ago. However, now it looks like the film will get a clear release in the state as the actor has apologised for his statements.

Sathyaraj stated, “I have got to know that what I had spoken during the Cauvery water crisis has created a lot of tension among the people of Karnataka. I am not against Kannadigas or Karnataka. The biggest example for this is that for the last 30 years my assistant has been Shekar who is a Kannadiga. I would like to apologise for the statement that I had made nine years back and would like to say that I am a small worker in ‘Baahubali’ film and my comment should not affect the film. I appeal to Tamils to understand.”

The film’s director had also posted a video in which he had spoken about the issue. Rajamouli had stated, “I’m not fluent in Kannada, please forgive me if I speak something wrong. The ‘Baahubali’ team and I wanted to issue a clarification about the Sathyaraj controversy. A few years back Sathyaraj had made some comments, which have hurt your sentiments. But, we are no way connected to his comments. It is his personal opinion. We were not aware of this issue until a month ago till we saw a video on social media. He made this comments 9 years ago. After that many of his films were released in Karnataka, including ‘Baahubali’ part 1. We request you to give the same support for ‘Baahubali 2’. He is neither the director nor the producer of this film. He is one of the many supporting actors in the film. If you stop this film, he is not going to face any loss. We think it is not right to punish so many people for one person’s comments and turn the anger on an individual towards ‘Baahubali 2’. We have explained the situation to Sathyaraj over the phone. And we can’t do anything more than that. I implore you not to involve us in this issue as we are no way connected to it.” (Also Read: SS Rajamouli is disappointed over ‘Baahubali 2’ being targeted and banned in Karnataka)

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The movie is slated to release on April 28, 2017.