Kannada director Prem files complaint against producer RS Srinivas over abusive remarks | Regional News
3 min readHyderabadFeb 9, 2026 07:03 PM IST
Director Prem, known for blockbusters like Jogi and Excuse Me, has filed a formal complaint with the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce against producer R S Srinivas. The move comes in response to what Prem describes as defamatory and abusive remarks made against him during a press meet for the film Cottonpete.
At the Cottonpete press conference last week, Srinivas claimed that Prem had taken money from him with the promise of directing a movie but never delivered. According to industry sources, Srinivas didn’t stop at professional allegations, he used abusive and derogatory language that crossed all boundaries of professional decorum.
The remarks were particularly painful for Prem because, as he stated in his complaint, the language used “hurt my wife and my mother.” The personal nature of the attacks transformed what might have been a business dispute into something far more serious.
In his complaint to the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, Prem laid out a detailed timeline of events that paints a very different picture from Srinivas’s public accusations.
According to Prem’s account, producer Srinivas approached him in 2004 to direct a film, providing an advance of Rs 9 lakh, Rs 5 lakh in cash and the remainder by cheque. What happened next reveals a pattern of professional negligence that ultimately cost Prem far more than he received.
“After this, I set up an office for him, formed a team and started working on the pre-production of the film,” Prem stated in his complaint. “However, when I contacted him again, I did not receive any response. He wasted my time and that of my team.”
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The complaint details how Srinivas effectively ghosted the director after the initial advance, leaving Prem and his assembled team in limbo. During this period, while waiting for the producer to follow through on the project, Prem says he spent close to Rs 20 lakh on office expenses and team salaries, costs that Srinivas never reimbursed.
All eyes are now on the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce to see what disciplinary actions, if any, will be taken against Srinivas.
