Director Prem has reportedly filed a complaint against senior film producer Kanakapura Srinivas at the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce. Prem alleged that the producer used derogatory remarks at a recent film-related event. The controversy has attracted attention within the Kannada film industry, as Prem alleged the comments targeted him, director AP Arjun, actor Darshan, and other producers, while also including disrespectful language about late actor Puneeth Rajkumar.

Filmmaker Prem files a complaint against Kanakapura Srinivas

According to Prem, the remarks crossed personal and professional boundaries, which led him to take both legal and industry-level action. He mentioned that he set up an office, formed a team, and began working on the script in 2004; however, repeated attempts to contact the producer yielded no response. According to Deccan Herald, the complaint read, "In 2004, producer Srinivas approached me to direct a film by giving an amount advance of Rs 9 lakh (Rs 5 lakh in cash and rest in cheque). After this, I set up an office for him, formed a team and started working on the pre-production of the film. However, when I contacted him again, I did not receive any response. He wasted my time and that of my team".