Hot news of the week: From donating towards Karnataka floods to ‘KGF’ stuntman being arrested for murder – here’s what made headlines

Sandalwood witnessed a whole lot of ups and downs in the past week. While some headlines came as a shocker, there were others which pleased fans. Here’s a round-up of the top stories of the week.

A Facebook post by Sandalwood actor Yuva Rajkumar about Karnataka floods went viral on social media. With Karnataka being hit with heavy floods, several locals were affected. Expressing his displeasure, Yuva Rajkumar posted, “In the past when floods hit Tamil Nadu and Kerala, many people from Karnataka rushed to their aid. Now, when Karnataka is in floods, no actor from other state in responding to the situation.”

Sandalwood star Upendra joined forces with director Shashank for his next project, which is a political saga. Shashank, who is busy preparing for the film’s shoot, has already done the script pooja. The yet untitled project will be Shashank's ninth film and will be produced under his home banner. He has completed the pre-work of the movie and the shoot will begin on Upendra's birthday, September 18. Nishwika Naidu is likely to play the female lead role in the movie. The plot is based on the present political situation and has a strongly planned screenplay.

In a shocking event, a member of the ‘KGF Chapter-2’ crew was charged with murder and is in jail. The man in question, Raghu, was working as a stuntman in the Prashanth Neel directorial. He is now the main accused in a murder case and has been arrested by the police. Raghu’s girlfriend was reportedly being blackmailed and an upset Raghu decided to murder the blackmailer, with the help of his friend. All three were arrested and Raghu’s girlfriend confessed that she had cheated and committed this murder. Apart from ‘KGF’, Raghu has previously worked as a stuntman in several Kannada movies.

Tamil actors Surya and Karthik donated over Rs 10 lakh towards the fund set up for those affected by Karnataka floods. Karthik and Surya run many charities and had raised Rs 25 lakh during the Kerala floods last year. The star brothers enjoy huge popularity in South and fans have appreciated their contribution towards the calamity.

‘Geetha’ starring Golden Star Ganesh and Sri Murali’s ‘Bharaate’ will lock horns at the box office on September 27. Both the Sandalwood films have created a huge buzz before its release. Vijay Nagendra is directing 'Geetha', while Chetan Kumar has called the shots for ‘Bharaate’. A few weeks back, the makers of ‘Bharaate’ had announced that the movie would release on September 27 and now the team of 'Geetha' is also planning the film’s release on the same day. While 'Geetha' covers the story of the Gokak movement, ‘Bharaate’ is packed with ten villains.