Ramya: I have quit. Why ban me now?

On Tuesday night, at a meeting between the Kannada Film Producers’ Association and the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, Ramya was banned for a year from acting in any film.

Reacting to the ban, the Queen Bee of Kannada cinema shot back, “This is a big joke. I just announced my retirement a week back. Why are they banning me now, isn’t it pointless?”

“I have had the most horrendous week. All I asked was for the money that I helped the producer (A Ganesh of Dandam Dashagunam) with. He was to pay me long back. Eight months ago, he took my money, saying he will return it to me in two months. I’m yet to receive it. Instead of giving me that money, I get this ban,” she said.

Ramya, who feels the industry is gender-biased, added, “The industry isn’t a place for women to work. There are double standards. I knew this was coming, for all I had asked was my money. Instead, people called me names like a ‘traitor’. I knew such a decision was coming all the while. There’s no room for justice.”

The issue, which began when Ramya boycotted the audio release of Dandam Dashagunam, seems to have taken a turn to the wrong side. The fight between Ramya and Ganesh has created a divide between the producers and cine artistes.

Senior actor Ambareesh, head of the Kannada Cine Artistes’ Association, said, “This is a joke. Ramya had anyway announced her retirement. What are they trying to prove? This is no power game. We had banned actors from acting in Ganesh’s film, because he has committed a mistake. Why do they have to prove a tit-for-tat?”

“That a Kannada girl was forced to retire and say she was fed up of Kannada films is a shame,” he added.

Confirming that it was a power game, senior producer Sa Ra Govindu said, “How could they ban a producer? What gave them the right to do so? This is unacceptable.”

And when questioned on Ramya’s ban and their right to do so, he simply said, “She is at fault, unlike Ganesh.”

What remains to be seen is whether this fight will deepen cracks in an already crumbling industry. Will the ego hassles between the producers and artistes act like a beginning to an end?