Who is Pavithra Gowda, accused in murder case involving Kannada actor Darshan?
Pavithra Gowda created a stir in January when she engaged in a war of words with Darshan's wife Vijaya Lakshmi on social media, after posting a video on her alleged relationship with the married actor
In January this year, Pavithra Gowda, a model-cum-actress turned entrepreneur, posted a reel on her Instagram page, featuring cozy pictures of Kannada film star Darshan and herself. She had captioned the picture thus:
"One decade down; forever to go. It’s been 10 years of our relationship."
This post ostensibly shook up Darshan's family life. Though Pavithra has been flaunting their relationship since 2017, the post created ripples even in the industry. After an uproar, she pulled it down.
According to reports, Darshan’s fans were divided about this relationship – while one actively cheered him even calling him 'lucky' for having a girlfriend like Pavithra, others supported the wife, Vijaya Lakshmi, who he has been married to for 20 years.
After Pavithra's provocative post in January, Vijaya Lakshmi reacted by posting previously unseen photos of Pavithra with her former husband Sanjay Singh.
Vijaya Lakshmi wrote, "I hope this woman comes to her senses before posting somebody else’s husband picture, it talks about her character." And, she added that she generally doesn't rake up her personal issues on social media. But, she threatened to take strict legal action against people trying to give a "different image" in society. Vijaya Lakshmi also posted a picture with her husband and their child.
Pavithra countered by saying that Vijayalakshmi knew about their affair and had no problems with it.
"Living together for ten long years is no mean achievement. Vijayalakshmi told me she has no problems with our affair," wrote Pavithra.
A few months later, Pavithra is in jail and the first accused in the murder of a Chitradurga resident, Renukaswamy. Her volatile Instagram post that had created such a hue and cry back in January, features a new comment from a user which states, 'Karma returns, don’t play with anyone’s life'.
Aspiring actress to entrepreneur
So, who is the 54-year-old Pavithra Gowda, whose claim to fame largely revolves around this social media post?
Pavithra was an aspiring actress, who was seen in a number of Kannada films but clearly failed to leave an impression. She was prominently seen in Ramesh Aravind’s laugh riot, the 2013 Chatrigalu Saar Chatrigalu.
But, her big break on celluloid seems to have been her debut in Tamil cinema in 2016 with the psychological thriller, 54321.
The film was made by an assistant of Pizza fame director Karthik. In 54321, she was one of the lead characters. However, reviewers criticized her for her lack of acting skills and for not expressing any emotion, even in a horrific scene when her fingers are chopped off.
Pavithra also was seen in Kannada films Agamya (a horror film) and a romantic entertainer 2016 Preeti Kitaabu.
She met Darshan while trying to get a role in one of his films and became friendly with him. Much earlier, when Pavithra was very young, she was married to Sanjay Singh, who worked in a grocery store. They had a daughter but the marriage soon failed and Pavithra left Singh. She lives in Bengaluru with her daughter.
Her Instagram reveals that she dabbles in fashion designing and runs a boutique named Red Carpet Studio 777.
The arrest
After one of Darshan's fans, Renuka Swamy, allegedly posted offensive comments and nude pictures of himself on Pavithra's social media account, which upset her. Renukaswamy, who was a Darshan fan, accused her of causing a rift between the actor and his wife and allegedly harassed her.
On learning about this, Darshan and his coterie allegedly brought Renukaswamy to Bengaluru and according to the police, he was reportedly beaten up which eventually led to his death.
Thirteen people, including Darshan and Pavithra Gowda, have been arrested.
