A Kannada superstar appears on poll horizon, says it’s only a cameo

Earlier, Sudeep had campaigned for BJP MLA Muniratna during the 2020 bypolls in Bengaluru’s Rajarajeshwarinagar constituency.

The actor, who is from Shimoga district, hails from the ST Nayaka community. His move to campaign now is also being seen as an attempt to ensure the community does not stray away from its support to the BJP.

Reacting to the announcement, Congress’s Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala remarked the decision was influenced by investigating agencies. In 2019, Sudeep was among the Sandalwood actors and producers who were raided by Income Tax officials.

“A Film Star is free to choose whom to support, sometimes by IT-ED or otherwise. Bankruptcy of BJP in Karnataka is clear. As no one turns up to listen to CM Bommai and BJP leaders, they now rely upon film stars to draw crowd. People, not film stars, will decide (the) fate of Karnataka,” he said in a tweet.

JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy said: “They do not offer stable support. They campaign due to their personal friendships. People will decide ultimately,” he said.

One of Karnataka’s most popular stars, Sudeep earlier this year completed 27 years in the Kannada film industry. His first major break was the 2000 film Huchcha, the official remake of Tamil hit Sethu starring Vikram. His other hits include Dhumm, Nandhi, Kiccha, Ranga (SSLC), Just Maath Maathalli, Kempe Gowda, Vishnuvardhana. Sudeep turned director with My Autograph (2006), which was the remake of a Tamil hit of the same name. He is also a screenwriter and singer.

He has also performed in Hindi films, making his debut with Ram Gopal Varma’s Phoonk (2008). He worked with Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan in Rann and Dabangg 3, respectively, and was part of director S S Rajamouli’s blockbuster fantasy drama Eega. His latest release was Kabzaa. He has also been the face of Bigg Boss Kannada since its inception in 2013.

The actor was also in the news last year for his statements at a film event that “Hindi was no more the national language”. In response, Bollywood actor Ajay Devgan had tweeted: “Hindi was and will remain our national language”. Saying he made the statement in a different context, Sudeep had replied: “I did understand the txt you sent in hindi. Tats only coz we all have respected,loved and learnt hindi. No offense sir, but was wondering what’d the situation be if my response was typed in kannada.!!”

Soon after news spread Wednesday that he had finally decided to take the plunge, Sudeep received a letter from an unknown person threatening to release a private video on social media. His fans launched the hashtag campaign #WedontwantKichchainpolitics on Twitter, requesting the star to continue doing films and not be used as a “pawn for politics”.

At the press conference with CM Bommai, Sudeep said he had known the former since a young age and called him “mama (uncle)”. “He was among those who were with me when I was struggling. It is a feeling of duty and gratitude that I have for this person. Today, I am very happy that Bommai is the leader of the state. I support this person. I am here to announce this. I will stand in favour of my friends. I am here to give my support to my uncle (Bommai),” Sudeep said.

Bommai said: “Please respect mine and Sudeep’s relationship. He has not joined any party. He is supporting me. I spoke to him and said that even if he does not join the party, he should campaign for us. He agreed to it. He will campaign for the party along with me.”

Sudeep said that besides Bommai, he might support others who reached out to him. He also denied that the threat letter he received was linked in any way to his support to Bommai. “The threat was due to some personal issue,” Sudeep said, going on to praise “the leadership of Prime Minister Modi” and some of his decisions. “This has nothing to do with my support to Bommai.”

(With inputs from entertainment bureau)