The accused number one in the case where Darshan Thoogudeepa and 12 others were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly killing a man in Bengaluru over an Instagram comments is Pavithra Gowda, who is said to have been in a relationship with the Kannada actor for more than a decade.
Renukaswamy, 33, was abducted and killed after he posted allegedly derogatory comments on Pavithra Gowda’s relationship with Darshan and sent her such messages, according to the police.
Pavithra Gowda was not known much in the film industry or among Darshan’s fans. According to a source in the industry, Gowda had run a boutique in RR Nagar while trying to get an acting role. “She was also dating a major actor in the Kannada industry then. She had been married to Sanjay Singh but was separated. She has a child from her first marriage,” the source added.
Pavithra Gowda managed to act in a few movies, such as Preethi Kithabhu and Chatrigalu Sir Chatrigalu, that did not make much noise in the box office. Nor did her acting attract much attention.
In 2014, Pavithra Gowda’s attempts to get a role in a Darshan film proved unsuccessful. “That was when she befriended Darshan and since then they have been in a relationship, about which many did not know till 2017,” said the source in the film industry.
Darshan’s strained relationship with wife
Darshan, 47, was accused of assaulting his wife Vijayalakshmi in 2011 and has spent jail time. Although the actor issued a public apology later, their relationship remained strained and he mostly stayed away from the family. It was then that Pavithra Gowda got close to Darshan, a source in the industry told The Indian Express.
When their relationship was not known to everyone, Pavithra Gowda uploaded an Instagram reel with Darshan, triggering a controversy among his fans and in the industry. She then removed the post.
“In the massive Darshan fan base, there is a divide. One section of fans want Darshan to be with Vijayalakshmi, who hates Pavithra Gowda, and there is another section that does not object to the actor’s relationship,” the source said.
In February 2023, Vijayalakshmi criticised actress Megha Shetty for posting online a video of Darshan’s birthday celebrations with Pavithra Gowda. “My silence doesn’t mean I am going to spare nonsense,” she said on Instagram.
In November 2023, Pavithra Gowda put out an Instagram reel where Darshan was seen celebrating her daughter’s birthday.
And an Instagram battle broke out between Pavithra Gowda and Vijayalakshmi this year. In January, Vijayalakshmi put out a post with her husband and son with the caption “This is us. With our one and only. #Familyovereverything”.
In the next few hours, Pavithra Gowda posted a collage video featuring some moments from her relationship with Darshan and wrote, “One decade down: Forever to Go. #10 year. Its been 10 years of our relationship Thank you @darshanthoogudeepashrinivas.”
Within a few hours, Vijayalakshmi posted several posts targeting Pavithra Gowda including a photo of Pavithra Gowda with her husband Sanjay Singh and her daughter.
“I hope this woman has to come into her senses before posting somebody else’s husband picture, it talks about her character and moral standing, knowing that the man is married she still choose to come and stay for their own personal needs and agenda… These images clearly show kushi gowda is the daughter of Pavithra and sanjay Singh….l generally don’t take social media to raise voice over personal issues but I feel now it’s time to raise my voice in the best interest of my family…. Will take strict legal action against people who are trying to give a different image to the entire society,” Vijayalakshmi wrote on Instagram.
A senior artist in the film industry said that online and offline battles are neither new to the Kannada industry nor a secret. “There are fan wars between Kiccha Sudeep fans and Darshan fans and there was and is a war between fans of the late actor Puneeth Rajkumar and Darshan. But in the Darshan case, you see even a war between fans who have accepted his relationship with Pavithra and those who continue to object to it,” the artist said.
