Karnataka Horticulture Minister and movie producer Munirathna on Monday, March 20, announced that he would be dropping the idea to produce a movie about the two fictitious characters, Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda. The decision to make a movie about the two characters was met with strong opposition from the Vokkaligara Sangha which threatened that two prominent seers of the community would lead an agitation if the BJP continued to pursue the matter. The BJP claims that the two fictional characters were Vokkaliga chieftains who killed the ruler of Mysore, Tipu Sultan. However, historians have refuted this claim, stating that there is no evidence of their existence.
Following threats and opposition from the Vokkaliga community and the opposition parties, Munirathna held a meeting with Adichunchanagiri seer Nirmalananda Swami (religious head of the Vokkaliga community) and announced that he had decided to shelve the project. Munirathna said that making a film was not an issue, but it was crucial to ensure that the movie did not hurt the sentiments of any community. He added that the existence of Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda was disputed. He said, "There is confusion surrounding Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda. As per the seer's suggestions, I won't go ahead with the movie."
Nirmalananda Swami said, "Any history that has not been recorded by contemporaries of those times, will be subject to dispute." He said, "It's not right to focus on this issue alone," when there were so many other pressing issues facing the community and society. The seer said that he had discussed the matter with those who were leading the charge on the issue, including CT Ravi, Ashwath Narayan, and K Gopalaiah and that they have been provided with the necessary background information to understand the situation. “We expect them to put the matter to rest,” he said.