Black day for Kannada cinema: Slipper hurled at Challenging Star Darshan during song launch in Hospet

Online fan wars have gone offline too. On Sunday evening, when Challenging Star Darshan and the team of his upcoming release Kranti came to Hospet for the second song launch, the gathered crowd had a mix of his fans and allegedly those of late Power Star Puneeth Rajkumar. There were chants of “Appu, Appu”, as the team took the stage, and then, at some point when heroine Rachita Ram was addressing the crowd, someone hurled a slipper at the actor, which lightly clipped his shoulder.

Darshan did not make a big deal of the incident and said nothing happened and continued with the programme of the day. His fans, though, are outraged. It is being alleged that this was retaliation for Darshan’s earlier comment, at the onset of Kranti promotions, when he compared the love his celebrities (fans) have for him, to the outpouring of love for Puneeth when he passed away. Darshan had added that he’s had the good fortune of seeing it while still alive, which, of course, did not go down well with fans of the late Power Star.

Online, Darshan was trolled severely for his comments, with Puneeth fans demanding that he issue an apology, which, did not happen. Last evening’s ‘slippergate’ is believed to be an extension of this, with the online fan war spilling into the offline space too. Friends and fans of the actor have been condemning the incident, posting #WeStandWithDarshan. The video of the incident is being widely circulated on social media. Fans have been calling for strict action against the perpetrator.

The Hospet event was the second public function held as part of the ongoing Kranti promotions. The first, in Mysuru, went ahead without a hitch. The team was planning to have more such events to release the remaining three songs, now, it remains to be seen if there will a change in the itinerary.