Ragini Dwivedi's boyfriend's fight stalls shoot

A skirmish between the makers of the upcoming Kannada movie Naati Koli and an acquaintance of the film’s lead heroine, Ragini Dwivedi, was a hot topic of discussion on media earlier this week. According to sources, a scuffle broke out between director Srinivasa Raju, producer Venkat and Shivaprakash, aka Chippi, who is believed to be close to Ragini, at the studio of photographer Sheetal Jain, during a photoshoot for the film.It is alleged that an inebriated Chippi, accompanied by actor Srinagara Kitty, barged into the studio and began abusing the director.
“I do not know if he was drunk, but he was shouting and abusing me, and, at one point, threatened to kill me. That is when producer Venkat stepped in and the men came to blows,” says Srinivasa Raju, adding that Kitty was not involved in the fight. As the men fought it out, matching blow-for-blow, Ragini claimed that she remained oblivious to it all in the dressing room, preparing for the shoot. “This is unfortunate and should not have happened. I am not going to support either party on this. But what irks me is that the media coverage on the incident focused on me and my alleged relationship with Chippi. Why should I be dragged into this issue when I was not involved in it?” she asks.
While Chippi has publicly apologized for his behaviour on TV, Srinivasa maintains that he is not sure what the apology is for? “Is he sorry about hitting the producer or threatening me? I don’t know. We have filed complaints with the Karnataka Film Producers Association and Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce and are waiting to hear from both about a solution on the issue. I am also eager to know why he wanted to fight in the first place,” says the filmmaker. So will Naati Koli go on the floors as scheduled this week? “Definitely not. I am quite shaken by the incident, and will take a call on the actual shoot and final casting later,” says Srinivasa.