A viral video of Telugu superstar and politician Nandamuri Balakrishna pushing actor Anjali away on stage has been receiving a lot of flak on social media. The incident took place at a promotional event for Anjali's film Gangs of Godavari.
Amidst the uproar on the internet, Anjali shared a video from the event on X (formerly Twitter) on 31 May to clear the air. In the clip, Balakrishna and Anjali can be seen sharing laughs, having conversations and high-fiving each other.
Along with the clip, Anjali wrote, "I want to thank Balakrishna Garu for gracing the Gangs of Godavari pre-release event with his presence. I would like to express that Balakrishna garu and I have always maintained mutual respect for each other and we share a great friendship from a long time. It was wonderful to share the stage with him again."
Have a look at it here:
Balakrishna was a chief guest at the promotional event of Anjali's film, which also stars Neha Shetty and Vishwak Sen. In the clip that has now gone viral, Balakrishna could be seen pushing Anjali, apparently after she couldn't hear him. Anjali's co-star Neha, who was also present at the event, looked shocked by Balakrishna's actions. However, an awkward Anjali laughed it off.
After the video surfaced on social media, several celebrities called out Balakrishna for his 'disrespectful' behaviour. Reacting to the video, singer Chinmayi Sripaada took to X on 30 May and wrote, "One of the biggest problems that I notice from people sharing this 'Look at her laughing. She should have _____' 1. It is NOT possible to respond according to your spectator response as you watch this on your device. This most moral policing, holier than thou - pure as driven snow - Harishchandra /Sri Ramachandramoorthy or their relative incarnates will fail to understand (sic)."
“2. Society itself refuses to hold men in power who misbehave responsible; Especially when they come from money, caste and political power. Don't come and tell women what to say and how to behave when you have everything to gain and nothing to lose (sic),” she added.
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