Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy shooting hits a roadblock

Tension continued in Bidar Fort, Karnataka today following a clash between local Muslim leaders and the crew of Chiranjeevi's historical war film, Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy. According to preliminary reports, the controversy erupted after the production unit began filming several scenes of the film with actor Kiccha Sudeep and others at the Solah Khamba Mosque (16 pillars mosque) inside the Bidar Fort on Sunday.

“The local Muslim youth were agitated seeing the idols of Hindu deities at the praying area inside the mosque at the fort. They had raised objections after which the unit halted the shoot on Sunday night. But, the production team continued the shoot this morning, which has lead to tension between both parties. The intervention of police at an appropriate time prevented any violence,” says a source from the production unit.

That’s not all, the angry mob has also demanded the police register a complaint against the film’s director, Surender Reddy, and actor Sudeep for hurting their religious sentiments. As a result, the shooting has hit a roadblock, and further investigation is underway. “We have obtained prior permission for filming inside the fort from the concerned officer-in-charge of the Archaeological department. But, the police have removed the set property from the fort. Halting a film’s shoot of this magnitude has incurred severe loss amounting to a few crores,” the source adds.

Produced by Ram Charan under Konidela Productions, Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy is based on the life and times of India’s first freedom fighter Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy. Also starring Nayanthara, Amitabh Bachchan, Vijay Sethupathi and Tamannaah Bhatia in pivotal roles, the film, with music by Amit Trivedi, is said to be made on a mammoth budget of Rs 300 in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam.