Actress
Ragini Dwivedi has been in custody for over two months following her arrest in the ongoing Sandalwood drug scandal probe. The actress, who has been charged under various sections of the NDPS Act for allegedly consuming, procuring and distributing banned substances, has been denied bail twice, once by the Special NDPS Court and then by the High Court on the pretext that the investigations are on and her going out could hamper the investigations with her tampering with the proof.
This has led to people wondering what will become of her film career, especially Gandhigiri, the film directed by Raghu Hassan and starring filmmaker Prem in the lead, as she was to resume shooting in mid-September. With there being no clarity on when she could be out, speculations are rife that Ragini will be replaced in the film, which might be an expensive move for the filmmakers.
The film has been in the making for a while and there has been a lot of money riding in the film. The film has Prem and Ragini in the lead and it also stars Bhavanaa Raao and Arundhati Nag. It also has television star Rakksh in a cameo. The team has shot for the film in Bengaluru, Mysuru and Mandya.
In a conversation with Bangalore Times in September, director Raghu had stated, "She had 12 days of shoot left for Gandhigiri, for which we had planned to shoot in Mysuru. With the recent developments, though, our plans are in jeopardy. Ragini was also supposed to shoot for a song, but given the nature of the case, we are not sure of the outcome and when she will be available."