Between two women, again

B V Shiva Shankar, Bangalore / Mid-Day

Bangalore, Jan 13: CM Yeddyurappa wants BJP to nominate the irresistible film star Tara to the Legislative Council, but steady woman friend Shobha Karandlaje won’t stand it.

ONCE upon a time, all South Indian films would be made in Chennai, a phenomenon attributed to the facilities available there in those days. Then, films in languages other than Tamil moved to their respective states as these slowly gained the requisite facilities. Now, at least for Tollywood, it may be back to Chennai again, thanks to the Telangana agitation that is making it impossible to shoot in Andhra Pradesh.

Industry insiders say some films have already begun shooting in the ECR Road area in Chennai.

The Telangana violence has hit the Telugu film industry, also known as Tollywood, and it is suffering such huge financial losses because of disruptions that producers, actors and directors have made the big decision to move their shoots to Tamil Nadu.

CM torn between star’s pull, his steady shobha
Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa is again said to be embroiled in a situation akin to a triangular love story -- he wants film star Tara to be a member of the Legislative Council (MLC), but his good friend Shobha Karandlaje is opposing it.

The government is expected to finalise the names to fill four vacancies in the Legislative Council today. This has provided Yeddyurappa with an opportunity to favour Tara, whose proximity to him is much talked about these days. However, this is believed to have angered Shobha, resulting in the chief minister ending up caught between two women.

"Yeddyurappa has promised Tara the seat, but he is not in a position to keep his promise, as he can not brush aside Shobha," said a source close to the chief minister.

How they met
Tara, a national award-winning actress, drew close to Yeddyurappa after they met at a convention of the Association of Kannada Kootas of America (AKKA) in the US last year. The duo hit the headlines, when the CM insisted Tara be put up in the room adjoining his. Shobha had not accompanied the CM on that trip as they had had a fight. Tara is now a member of the BJP and a frontrunner for the nominated membership.

"I don’t know whether my name is there or not among the nominees. But if I am given a chance, I assure you I will serve society well," said Tara. One of Shobha’s confidants said, "Madam (Shobha) has nothing against Tara. But she has conveyed to the chief minister that senior party workers must get priority."

Other women who have kept Shobha Karandlaje on her toes

Actress Shruthi
This is not the first time Shobha is upset over Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa’s penchant for women. She had once even taken a seer’s help to persuade Yeddyurappa to move apart from actress Shruthi, whom he had made the chairperson of Women and Child Development Corporation. Shruthi resigned when she filed for divorce, seeking to separate from her director husband Mahendar.

Bharathi Shetty
Shobha also had to put her foot down when the chief minister was about to make her friend-turned-foe Bharathi Shetty the chairperson of the Karnataka State Commission for Women. The appointment for the panel’s chairperson was never made and the position still remains vacant.