Kannada outfits to announce stand on 'Baahubali 2' tomorrow

Pro-Kannada groups will meet here tomorrow to decide on whether to go ahead with their protest to stall the release of "Baahubali 2" in view of "wholehearted regret" expressed by actor Sathyaraj over his controversial remarks made during the Cauvery row nine years ago.
"We will meet and announce our decision tomorrow," Vatal Nagaraj, who heads 'Kannada Okoota', an umbrella organisation of Kannada bodies, said in response to Sathyaraj's statement in Chennai.
Sathyaraj, who plays the role of Kattappa in the epic fantasy, in a video message expressed his "wholehearted regret" to the Kannada people for his remarks.
Kannada organisations had demanded an "unconditional apology" from Sathyaraj, a Tamil actor, for his "anti- Kannadiga" remarks and threatened to stall the release of the much-anticipated film on April 28.

The controversy had erupted after a video in which Sathyaraj made the alleged anti-Kannada comments in the context of the Cauvery river water row surfaced a fortnight ago and went viral.
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are locked in a bitter row over the sharing of Cauvery waters.

In an appeal in a video, "Bahubali 2" director S S Rajamouli yesterday sought to distance himself and the team from Sathyaraj's remarks that triggered protests by the fringe Kannada outfits.
He had also appealed to the Kannada outfits not to stall the release of the film.
The Kannada outfits have called for a "Bengaluru bandh" on April 28, the date of the release of the film.