Popular Kannada star Kichcha Sudeep has landed in a controversy after a coffee estate owner from Karnataka’s Chikkamagaluru filed a complaint with the film chamber, alleging that the actor has cheated him.
Deepak Mayur Patel, the coffee estate owner, alleged that Sudeep’s production house – Kichcha Creations – owes him Rs 1.5 crore for destroying the plantation in the course of a shoot.
In 2016, Kichcha Creations had rented the estate belonging to Deepak Mayur to shoot the television show Varasdara. According to Deepak, Kichcha Creations had sought permission from him to shoot the TV series in his estate, to which he had agreed. An initial payment of Rs 50,000 was made, followed by another payment of Rs 1.8 lakh when the shooting was wrapped up seven months ago.
“Initially, they were supposed to shoot only inside my house in the coffee estate, and we had not agreed to disrupt the activities of the coffee plantation. But after the shooting got over, they have left me with losses worth Rs 1.5 crore. They have destroyed many plants, trees, and the greenery in my estate. They also built a separate structure inside my estate to house their workers for the shoot,” Deepak alleges.
In June 2017, Deepak had approached Chikkamagaluru SP Annamalai, and had filed a complaint alleging cheating by the production house and the director of the TV show. The SP had advised Deepak to take up the matter in court as it was a civil dispute. Subsequently, Deepak had petitioned the district court in Chikkamagaluru in that very month.
“Nothing came of it. The issue is being dragged out because many rich people are involved. Even the police did not do much. They (makers of the show) have destroyed my beautiful estate. A half-constructed homestay is standing in the middle of an estate. That’s why I have filed a complaint with the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce to bring out the issue,” Deepak said.
However, Director Mahesh has another story to tell and rubbished Deepak’s allegations and also actor Sudeep’s involvement in the dispute.
“When we had agreed to rent the estate for the shoot of Varasdara, we realised that there were many logistical issues of transportation of the artistes and technical crew from the hotels to the estate every day for the shoot. At the time, the estate owner Deepak had said that he would construct a guesthouse for us and later would use it as a homestay. Now, he is making false allegations that the shoot has caused him losses. Besides, Kichcha Sudeep had no role in any of it,” Mahesh said.