It's very disappointing, says Sarja family

Bengaluru: Filmmaker and journalist Indrajit Lankesh kicked up a storm stating that Sandalwood is in the grip of drugs. Indrajit said that some "young, upcoming actors" are hooked to substance abuse. He cited some examples but did not give out any names.

He said the cause of death of 39-year-old Sandalwood star Chiranjeevi Sarja was not known and alleged that there was "pressure on the doctors from some powerful people/politicians" not to conduct any autopsy to establish the cause of Chiranjeevi's death. Chiranjeevi Sarja's family took serious objection to Lankesh comments.

It may be noted that Sandalwood actor Chiranjeevi Sarja death which makes Sarja family express their disappointment on the filmmaker.

Lankesh on Saturday has questioned many things, which included the recent death of a young Kannada actor and the lack of an autopsy on his body thereafter, which he alleged should have been done at that time. He claimed that pressure on the doctors from some powerful people not to conduct an autopsy to establish the cause of death.

Reacting to the allegations, producer-turned-distributor Prashanth Sambaragi, close to Sarja family says, "it's not good that people are taking the name of Chiranjeevi Sarja into this issue, we know that Sarja family for many years. The Chiru was well known person for the Kannada industry and his work for the industry speaks about him even today. After his death, people are trying to tag his name to this serious issue which is not accepted and also we don't have Chiru to answer about this."

Chiranjeevi Sarja kin of the Sarja family aged 39, popularly known as Yuva Samrat of Kannada industry died of a heart attack in Bengaluru in June.

"I have already spoken to Chiru's wife Meghana Raj and his brother Dhruva Sarja on this issue. The family is already under depression after the loss of Chiru. Now, this issue will make them even weaker, so lets all fight against this issue but not to make a baseless allegation without any reason" Prashanth added.

Narcotics Control Bureau, Bengaluru zone, had busted a drug trafficking racket in the city in which the agency said some "prominent actors and musicians in Bengaluru were involved. Followed by Lankesh claims, Central Crime Branch police have asked Sandalwood filmmaker Indrajit Lankesh to appear before them on Monday and share information about alleged drug abuse by some actors in the Kannada film industry.

He had married Meghana Raj, the daughter of Prameela Joshai and Sundar Raj on May 2, 2018. He began his career in the Sandalwood with Vayuputra in 2009. Shivarjuna, released days before the lockdown was imposed, is his last film. He began his career in the Sandalwood with Vayuputra in 2009. Shivarjuna, released days before the lockdown was imposed, is his last film. He had signed for four films which are under shooting currently . He acted in about 22 films.