Sandalwood lashes out at actor Darshan

When Sandalwood actor Darshan was arrested by the Vijayanagar police, on Friday morning, on charges of assaulting his wife Vijayalakshmi, the entire Kannada film industry was shocked. Though few actors preferred to support Darshan, most stars in Sandalwood were of the opinion that the outburst of rage by an established actor like Darshan was unacceptable.

As per sources, Darshan has five cases registered against him at the police station. He used a revolver to threaten his wife Vijayalakshmi. Besides, 20 days ago, Darshan had threatened to run over his wife. While this incident took place in Jalahalli, the police let him walk away with a strict warning.
Darshan and Vijayalakshmi, who have been married for over ten years were reportedly going through a rough patch in marriage. It was earlier reported that Darshan was having an affair with Nikitha Thukral, Tamil-cum-Kannada actress. Nikitha has starred opposite him (actor Darshan) in Yodha, Prince and Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna.

Reacting to the incident, actor Ramesh Aravind said that such incidents cannot be wiped off from people"s mind easily. Ramesh said, “Any man, who beats a woman, has not done the right thing, whatever be the circumstances. That is no way to deal with the situation. Such incidents cannot be wiped off from people"s mind easily. This definitely will impact his career."
Darshan has done special appearance in one of Ramesh Aravind"s films. Adding that the public must know that actors are human and they too have problems of their own, Ramesh said that being a talented rising actor, Darshan must be more careful as he serves as a role model to many youngsters. This unfortunate incident, according to actor Ramesh could have been easily avoided if Darshan had expressed his anger in a more appropriate manner.

Actress Jennifer Kotwal, who was seen with Darshan, in films like Ee Bandhana and Prince, preferred to remain diplomatic and said that she has always maintained a professional relationship with Darshan. However Jennifer added, “Darshan used to keep to himself on the sets. As an actor, one must be careful about how one carries himself/herself in the public eye".

Actress Sharmila Mandre, who worked with Darshan for his home production, Navagraha mentioned that though he has always been a gentleman at work, this act of violence is not justified.

However, few actors like Duniya Vijay and Lovely Star Prem were with the actor all throughout the day. Vijay, when asked to comment, “There are two sides of the story and until one knows about the entire issue, I feel no one should comment on the incident."

Director Ashok Kashyap, who directed Darshan in Sihi Muthu expressed shock at the incident. Terming Darshan as a kid, Ashok said, “Darshan is highly vulnerable but has always been well behaved. But this is like a bad phase that we see that affects most stars, like Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt. Though this will leave a blackspot in his career, he will always remain a great hero. People will forget about the issue."

How much of what Ashok Kashyap said will hold true remains to be seen in the days to come.