Uncertainty over Eddelu Manjunatha 2 release: Director Guruprasad’s widow claims she’s got an injunction; co-producer says court’s been misled
Late Kannada filmmaker Guruprasad’s last directorial, Eddelu Manjunatha 2 is set for February 21 release, but his widow and the producers are now involved in a tussle over intellectual property rights
Last Updated: 03.29 PM, Feb 20, 2025
In the last few days, Kannada filmmaker Guruprasad, who passed away in October 2024, has been in the news due to issues with the release of his final directorial, Eddelu Manjunatha 2. Guruprasad had committed suicide before completing the film and, according to one of the producers, Mysuru Ramesh, allegedly even deleted the raw footage prior to his death, which was later retrieved and edited by the team to release it in theatres.
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Ramesh, who has spent close to a crore on the making, along with other financiers of the crowd-funded film, have been working on bringing Eddelu Manjunatha 2 to audiences, considering that it was Guruprasad’s dream project. However, they claim that they’ve constantly faced objection from the filmmaker’s widow, Sumithra, who has now also filed an injunction suit against the release of the film.
Guruprasad's wife Sumithra: Need compensation for my husband's work as writer, director and actor
According to Sumithra, Guruprasad’s intention was to release the film under his banner, Guruprasad Inc., but the current set of producers have allegedly removed all mentions of Guruprasad Inc., from all documentation of the film. The initial agreement, she claims, was that she and her young child would be compensated for the work Guruprasad has put into the project, since he’s written, directed and acted in it, but now, she’s been told that any payout will happen only from the profits of the film, if any, after the producers have recovered their money.
Also read: Eddelu Manjunatha 2 release: Producer claims director-actor Guruprasad deleted film before his death
She also refutes the claims that Guruprasad had deleted raw footage, as the dubbing work with the entire film was ongoing at a studio in Bengaluru at the time of his death. Meanwhile, in response to the stay order, Ramesh has said that he’s confident that the court will see that there’s no meat in the case and that there’s been an attempt to mislead it. He also claims that he will be able to release the film as planned.