Bangalore, April 05: A court today restrained the production and shooting of a Kannada film purportedly based on the life of controversial self-styled godman Nithyananda, facing criminal charges including rape, till April 23.
Additional Civil Judge Ashwathnarayana passed the interim injunction after hearing a defamation suit by Nithyananda against the producer-director of film ‘Satyananda’ Madan Patel (popularly known as Madana Mallu) and the hero of the film, Ravi Chethan.
Senior counsel Krishna Kumar Bhagawati, who represented Nithyananda, submitted that the story of the film “defamed a religious person who was working for the good of the society and was a obscene and wrong portrayal of his life.”
Bhagawati pointed out that despite a lawyer’s notice being served on Madana Mallu, he proceeded with the shooting of the film. The counsel sought a compensation of over Rs three crore from Mallu.
–Agencies