J Karthik on his decision to quit showbiz: People are blocking my opportunities, which has come to my attention

A few days ago, Kannada actor J Karthik, popularly known as JK, took to social media to announce that he was set to quit showbiz, writing that his films Iravan and Kaada would be his last releases. On Friday, at the press briefing to announce Iravan’s upcoming release, JK addressed the issue, clarifying, “When I took up Iravan, I had just wound up my Hindi serial commitment (on Siyaa Ke Ram, in which he played Ravan), and was contemplating giving up on showbiz and shifting to some other career. But then, I met producer Dr Ganesh by chance and heard that he’d been trying to reach me, which had been scuttled by some people who were supposedly close to me. He told me about a film he wanted to do with me and when I heard the story, I quite liked it and we did the film. What’s hurtful is that after years of struggle, when you attain a certain place for yourself in the industry, there are people who go out of their way to ensure you don’t get opportunities, which has come to my attention. I have had a very different upbringing, in the sense that, you should never pull someone down. My intention is to be happy in life and I realize that I can attain that in any other field outside of showbiz. I don’t want to suffer.”

The actor adds, “I have always given my 100% to all my projects, so my only request is that even if you don’t give me opportunities, don’t kick me.” When asked who has been instrumental in this, JK refused to divulge a name, but said that the person responsible would realize who he meant. “That person will be the first to laugh when he sees visuals from this press briefing. I, honestly, do not know why I was targeted, and if I knew, I could have asked,” he said, adding, "I left behind opportunities in Hindi to focus on Kannada, but I got no support. Why should I stick on then?"