Vishnu Manchu issues ‘official statement’ after Konda Surekha’s derogatory comments about Samantha Ruth Prabhu-Naga Chaitanya

While on one hand, the south film industry is churning out the best of films and has some of the most expected ones in the wings, on the other hand, its in the news for not so good reasons. For the unversed, Telangana Minister Konda Surekha had linked Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu's divorce to Bharat Rashtra Samiti's (BRS) working President KT Rama Rao. Within minutes of this, her statement went viral like wildfire.

On his part, Vishnu Manchu, President (Movie Artistes Association), took to social media and without naming anyone, issued an ‘official statement’, which stated, ‘In light of the recent unfortunate comments made in the public domain, I feel it is important to address the pain caused to the families involved. Our industry, like any other, is built on mutual respect and trust, and it is disheartening to see how false narratives are being used for public or political gain’.

He added that, ‘As artists, we are no strangers to public attention, but our families are private, and they deserve the same respect and protection as any other family. Just as no one would appreciate their own loved ones being targeted or their personal lives dragged into baseless allegations, we too demand for the same dignity to be extended to us’.

He continued by stating that he humbly appealed to all leaders, politicians, and people in positions of influence to refrain from using the names of actors and their families for political narratives or attention and also seeking headlines. In the same breath, she stated that, as a film fraternity, they (all the actors) work hard to entertain and contribute to society, and that it was his earnest request that personal lives be left out of public discourse.

He also requested that everyone respect one another, not just as professionals but as human beings. He cited this from the fact that families were sacred, and the pain caused by false narratives were immense. He added that he trusts that they all can all agree that such actions only create division and hurt.

Towards the end of his note, he wrote, ‘On behalf of the entire industry, I request that the families be spared from such unwarranted and harmful attention. I personally will not be a mute spectator if anyone tries to harm my film fraternity. We will not tolerate any such abuse. We are united in this. Vishnu Manchu’.

Meanwhile, on her part, Konda Surekha also clarified that her remarks were to question KT Rama Rao for belittling women’ and not to hurt Samantha Prabhu's sentiments. In her post on X (formerly known as Twitter), she posted (in Kannada) stating that her comments were meant to question a leader's belittling of women and not to hurt Samantha Prabhu’s sentiments.

In the same post, she added that, ‘The way she (referring to Samantha Ruth Prabhu) had grown up with self-power was not only an admiration for her but also an ideal... She added that, ‘If you or your fans are offended by my comments, I unconditionally retract my comments. Don't think otherwise’.