Darshan Thoogudeepa had his big breakthrough as a lead in the 2002 film Majestic.
Kannada actor Darshan Thoogudeepa has been arrested from his farmhouse in Karnataka's Mysuru in connection with a murder case. Mr Thoogudeepa was taken into custody over his alleged involvement in the murder of a 33-year-old man, Renuka Swamy, who is said to have sent obscene texts to actress Pavithra Gowda.
In total, 13 people, including Darshan and Pavithra, have been arrested so far in connection with the murder. The body of Mr Swamy, who lived in Chitradurga, was found in a Bengaluru drain on June 9.
Here are five facts you need to know about Darshan Thoogudeepa:
1. Born on February 16, 1977, in Ponnampet in Karnataka's Kodagu district, Darshan Thoogudeepa is the son of actor Thoogudeepa Srinivas and his wife Meena. At the time of his birth, Darshan was given the name Hemanth Kumar. Thoogudeepa was a famous 1966 Kannada film starring Srinivas. After that, he became popular as Thoogudeepa Srinivas.
2. After working on a few projects, Darshan Thoogudeepa had his big breakthrough as a lead in the 2002 film Majestic. Since then, he has featured in several commercial and critically hit projects like Kariya (2003), Namma Preethiya Ramu (2003), Gaja (2008), Saarathi (2011), Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (2012), Ambareesha (2014), Tarak (2017), Yajamana (2019) and Kurukshetra (2019).
3. Darshan Thoogudeepa married his fiancee Vijayalakshmi in 2003. Together, the couple have a son named Vineesh. Mr Thoogudeepa also maintains a zoo near Malavalli and had earlier adopted a tiger cub.
4. Darshan Thoogudeepa shot to fame playing the righteous man on screen. However, the actor is no stranger to controversies. In 2011, he was arrested over a domestic violence complaint filed by his wife and spent 14 days in judicial custody. Ultimately, the matter was resolved out of court and the actor publicly apologised to his fans, claiming he was intoxicated. Later in 2016, his wife again reported his 'objectionable behaviour' to the police. Besides this, he also faced accusations of assaulting a waiter at a Mysuru hotel in 2021.
5. In January 2024, Pavithra Gowda created a stir on social media after she shared a video on Instagram featuring several photographs of herself and Darshan. Sharing the video with the caption, "10 years of our relationship," Ms Gowda hinted she was in a relationship with the married actor.