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Ranveer Singh moves Karnataka HC to challenge FIR filed in Kantara row; actor's lawyer calls his mimicry ‘appreciation’
Ranveer Singh got into trouble for mimicking Rishab Shetty's expressions from Kantara Chapter 1 on stage at IFFI last year.
Actor Ranveer Singh has approached the Karnataka High Court to challenge the FIR registered against him. The actor ran into legal trouble after he mimicked Rishab Shetty’s expressions in the Kannada hit Kantara Chapter 1. The matter was heard on Monday and has been listed for tomorrow.
Ranveer Singh moves Karnataka HC over Kantara row
The Live Law website mentioned that Ranveer’s case was listed before Justice M Nagaprasanna for urgent listing. His lawyer said, “The petitioner is a Bollywood actor. His honest appreciation of Kantara Chapter 1 is given a criminal colour.” It was also mentioned that the complainant in the FIR was an advocate. When Ranveer’s lawyer requested that the matter be listed at 2:30 PM today, the court said, “Why? Because it is Bollywood? Tomorrow.”
The FIR against Ranveer Singh for insulting daivas
In January this year, an FIR was registered against Ranveer in Bengaluru following the court’s directions over allegations of him insulting Hindu religious sentiments and the daiva/bhoota kola tradition of coastal Karnataka. The case was booked under Sections 196, 299, and 302 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) following a complaint filed by 46-year-old advocate Prashanth Methal in December 2025.
In the complaint, he alleged that Ranveer mimicked expressions linked to Panjuluri and Guliga Daiva in a ‘crude and disrespectful manner’. He also raised objections over Ranveer referring to Chavundi Daiva as a ‘female ghost’, alleging it had been ‘deliberate and malicious’. The matter is scheduled to be heard on April 8 at the 1st Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court, but Ranveer has moved the HC to challenge it.
What did Ranveer Singh do?
On November 28 last year, at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) held in Goa, Ranveer mimicked Rishab twice. He took to the stage and, while appreciating Rishab’s performance in Kantara: Chapter 1, began making faces. Rishab stood up and requested him not to do that. Ranveer also did the same while greeting and hugging Rishab, with the Kannada actor-filmmaker asking him not to again.
Praising Rishab on stage, Ranveer said, “I saw that in the theatres, Rishab, it was an outstanding performance. Especially when the female ghost gets inside your body, that performance, that one shot. Did you see Kantara, sir? Did you see that one shot that he gave?” before mimicking Rishab’s expression in the film and adding, “Anybody here want to see me in Kantara 3? Tell this guy. Tell him.”
After considerable backlash, Ranveer apologised for hurting sentiments and wrote, “My intention was to highlight Rishabh's incredible performance in the film. Actor to actor, I know how much it would take to perform that particular scene in the way that he did, for which he has my utmost admiration.”
Last seen in Dhurandhar, Ranveer's Dhurandhar 2 will hit screens on March 19 and will clash with Toxic.
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