Karnataka Govt Censors Dancer Pratibha's Talk, Parts About RK Hegde Removed

Karnataka govt reportedly censored parts where Pratibha Prahlad talked about her relationship with ex CM RK Hegde.

Renowned Dancer Pratibha Prahlad's interview was reportedly edited out by the Karnataka government over the parts mentioning former CM RK Hegde. 

(Photo Courtesy: Facebook/ Prathibha Prahlad)

Parts of dancer Pratibha Prahlad's latest talk series where she spoke about her relationship with former chief minister of Karnataka Ramkrishna Hegde and her experience as a single mother, have reportedly been edited out by the Karnataka government.

In the talk series organised by the Department of Kannada Culture called ‘Maneyangaladalli Mathukathe,’ which aimed to record the life stories of Karnataka's renowned personalities, Pratibha was interviewed by senior journalist Ramakrishna Upadhya on 21 May.

Pratibha, during her interview, spoke at length about various aspects of her life, including her relationship with former CM Ramkrishna Hegde, and her decision to raise her twin sons as a single mother.

As per a report by Deccan Herald, Pratibha during the interview said:

"Personally, I don't believe marriage is necessary to have children. It is something that society has subscribed to for reasons best known to society. Yes, it is good to have a partner to share the joys and burdens of looking after a family. But, irrespective of this, society has to progress and think about various paradigms. One such paradigm was my decision to become a single mother to my twin sons and I have never regretted it."

Reportedly, she also mentioned about her relationship with Hegde becoming strained. She said:

“Once he fell ill, his family tried their best to keep me away from him. They believed I had political aspirations and would end up being his political heir. What they didn’t understand was the emotional bond the two of us shared.”

Full Video Uploaded Initially, Pulled Down Within Hours: Ramkrishna Upadhya

The interviewing journalist Ramkrishna Upadhya, in an interview with The Hindu, said that the full video was uploaded initially on YouTube but was pulled down within hours.

"In the second half of the interview, we spoke about her personal life, her relationship with Mr. Hegde and being a single mother. Though these things are public knowledge, this was probably the first time she spoke openly about it on a public platform. While the full interview was initially put up by the Department on YouTube on May 22, Sunday, it was pulled down within hours and a censored version of it was uploaded.”

Ramkrishna Upadhya

In response to the reports on her video being censored Pratibha Prahlad tweeted, "Strange that the Dept of Culture should have an objection to what I said about my life choices & challenges."

(with inputs from The Hindu and Deccan Herald.)