Eddelu Manjunatha 2 release: Producer claims director-actor Guruprasad deleted film before his death

Eddelu Manjunatha 2, written and directed by the late Guruprasad, who has also played the main lead in it, is releasing on February 21. The film has been produced by Mysore Ramesh, who says that he associated with Guruprasad as a fan of the latter’s work, even though he had been warned of his eccentricities and frequent quarrels with producers. Releasing the film, though, has been far from easy for Ramesh, who claims to be facing some opposition from the late filmmaker’s widow, Sumithra, after he declined to pay her any money, until and unless Eddelu Manjunatha 2 is in theatres and recovers his investment.

In a conversation with Chitraloka, the filmmaker explained what’s been happening behind-the-scenes of the Eddelu Manjunatha 2 release, after Sumithra claimed that she was made to sign a blank document, which has resulted in her losing rights to the film. It was in 2020, that producer Mysore Ramesh gave the late director-actor Guruprasad Rs 40 lakh, an amount that he thought he would have to write off, when the filmmaker passed away in November 2024. After Guruprasad’s death, though, Ramesh claims that he decided to try and release the film, so that it would benefit Guruprasad’s widow, Sumithra, and young child. The content was with Guruprasad on a hard disk at the time of his death, in a house that Ramesh was paying rent for.

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The producer says that when he later had a meeting with Sumithra, a question arose about the original footage of the film was stored and that is when they realized that days before Guruprasad took his own life, he had deleted it in its entirety. The footage that is currently in the possession of Ramesh is what he was able to recover with the help of technology. "Normally, people try and do a good deed before they die, but Guruprasad did just the opposite," claims Ramesh. 

51% of profit of Eddelu Manjunatha 2 to be handed over to Guruprasad's family

The producer also claims that he was then summoned to the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce. “The officials wanted to know who would foot the bill of what is required to release the film, which would be to the tune of Rs 30-40 lakh. I agreed to pay. I was also made to sign an undertaking that once the film is released, following the recovery of the amount I have spent, whatever comes thereafter, from theatrical or non-theatrical business, 51% of it will be shared with Guruprasad’s family,” says Ramesh.

Paying the family, of course, would depend on the film being profitable, failing which, he would not make any payment, Ramesh added. He also admits that he refused to use Guruprasad Inc. in the credits, as that would mean that for any business deal related to the film, he would have to seek an NOC from Sumithra. Given that Ramesh was the one paying every single penny related to Eddelu Manjunatha, it did not make sense to him to have Guruprasad’s family retain rights.

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The film, which is set to release in theatres on February 21, was recently censored and given an A certificate. The fact that he has produced an A-rated film does not sit easy with Ramesh. “This is a film that will only work for Guruprasad fans.