Bengaluru:Debutant filmmaker Sudhindra Nadigar R., the director of Nimagondu Sihi Sudhi, has raised serious concerns over an alleged unauthorised change of the director’s name in the censor certification process of the film.

According to Sudhindra Nadigar, the film was a joint production between Gold Chain Productions (GCP), owned by Raghavendra Bhat, and Purple Rock Entertainers (PRE), represented by Ganesh Papanna. The co-production agreement was signed on October 30, 2020, and filming began in Goa on November 5, 2020.

The shoot was successfully completed on January 12, 2021, after which Ganesh Papanna and Srinivas Sribhakta, a partner at PRE, publicly congratulated Nadigar for directing the film. Evidence of this congratulatory note has been submitted as proof.

However, post-production was delayed due to PRE’s engagement in another project and further impacted by the pandemic. In December 2024, PRE withdrew from the project under Clause 15 of the agreement and sold their rights to GCP. Subsequently, GCP’s owner Raghavendra Bhat sold partial rights to Harish N. Gowda, a partner at Avyakta Films.

Despite assurances that Nadigar and his team would receive their payments after the film’s release, a shocking turn of events occurred on January 13, 2025. An uninformed press release by Avyaktha Cinemas and GCP featured a revised film poster, where the director’s name had been altered. At a press conference, Raghavendra Bhat claimed to be the story writer, screenplay writer, and director of the film, while dismissing Nadigar’s role as merely an assistant.

Refuting these claims, Sudhindra Nadigar has stated, “I was the sole director of the entire film. Raghavendra Bhat has no experience in directing a film, and he did not direct Nimagondu Sihi Sudhi.”

When we tried reaching out to the lead actor and story writer of the movie Raghavendra Bhat, he said, “The movie rights is with Avyakta Cinemas. The Producer will answer to this.”

The movie banner Avyakta Cinemas, Producer, Harish N said, “We have given credits to Sudhindra and Raghavendra, whereas Raghavendra has worked as a director for the reshoot work, post-production, DI and other works. There is no injustice done to them. If they have any problem they could have come and discussed with me. But they haven’t come and spoken since we released our first motion poster in January.” Nadigar has submitted substantial evidence to support his claim and is seeking appropriate action to rectify the misrepresentation. The controversy surrounding Nimagondu Sihi Sudhi has now sparked debates within the Kannada film industry over the rightful attribution of creative credits. Meanwhile, both the director and actor are debutants to the Kannada film industry.