A court had ordered the registration of the case.
Bengaluru:
A case has been registered against the producer of the Kannada movie ‘Toxic’ and two others for alleged illegal tree cutting during its filming in a forested area in Bengaluru. The movie features Kannada star Yash, best-known for ‘KGF’, in a lead role.
Acting on the orders of a magistrate court, the Karnataka forest department registered a First Information Report (FIR) on Saturday against the movie’s producer, KVN Mastermind Creations, the General Manager of Canara Bank and the General Manager of Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) under the Karnataka Forest Act 1963.
This issue had come to light last month when Karnataka Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre conducted a site inspection at the Peenya Plantation in Bengaluru, where the movie was being shot. The minister had asked the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to conduct an inquiry and the Bengaluru civic body had approached a court, which ordered the registration of an FIR against the producer and the organisations that had rented out the land.
It was initially believed that the land was rented by HMT but the company claimed that was not the case and the plot belonged to Canara Bank. The producer of the film has said that the shooting was done on private land and all necessary permissions had been taken.
Forest Minister Khandre has also ordered disciplinary action against officials who granted permission for tree-cutting, if any.
Sources said the filming of the movie is now being completed in Mumbai. The release is expected around April next year.
‘Toxic’ is directed by Geetu Mohandas, known for films like ‘Moothon’ and ‘Liar’s Dice’. It also stars Huma Qureshi and Akshay Oberoi.
