Actor Balakrishna pushes heroine on stage, producer calls it 'friendly gesture'

Ch Sushil Rao / TNN / May 30, 2024, 15:47 IST

Text Size

Small
Medium
Large

Actor Balakrishna pushed actress Anjali at a film function, defended by producer Naga Vamsi as a 'friendly' act misinterpreted for wrong motives.

Actor Balakrishna

HYDERABAD: After a video of actor Balakrishna pushing actress Anjali on stage at a film function went viral, the movie producer S Naga Vamsi said what was done in a ‘friendly manner’ should not be ‘misread or misinterpreted’. “Both Balakrishna and Anjali know each other well. The video is being circulated with wrong motives. Why is it that Balakrishna and Anjali giving a high-five to each other immediately has not been circulated?” producer Naga Vamsi questioned.
At the pre-release function of a film produced by Naga Vamsi in which Viswak Sen is the hero, on May 28, actor and TDP MLA from Hindupur in Andhra Pradesh, Balakrishna was invited as a guest.
In a video that has gone viral, Balakrishna suddenly pushes Anjali who is taken aback initially. Another actress Neha Shetty, who is standing in between Balakrishna and Anjali, reacts in shock. However, almost immediately, Anjali laughs off the incident and Neha Shetty too regains her composure. Actor Viswak Sen who is on the other side of Balakrishna does not seem to have noticed what happened. It is heard in the video that the audience bursts into a peel of laughter after the incident involving Balakrishna and Anjali.
Neither Balakrishna nor Anjali have chosen to react and explain about the incident as the video went viral on the internet.

Film producer Naga Vamsi in an interview to a film channel said not much should be read into what happened on stage. “It was all done in a friendly manner. The video should be seen in the context of what happened before and after the act in which Balakrishna is being unreasonably and intentionally being targeted,” Naga Vamsi said.
In 2016, actor Balakrishna and Anjali acted together in a Telugu film titled “Dictator’.
The Telugu film industry has maintained a stoic silence on the incident involving Balakrishna who is the brother-in-law of former AP CM N Chandrababu Naidu, and son of late N T Rama Rao.
“Not one person expressed their discomfort. Not one. Ridiculous behaviour by the gent,” commented actor Nakuul Mehta.

About the Author

Ch Sushil Rao

Sushil Rao is Editor-Special Reports, at The Times of India, Hyderabad. He began his journalism career at the age of 20 in 1988. He is a gold medalist in journalism from the Department of Communication and Journalism, Arts College, Osmania University, Hyderabad from where he did his post-graduation from. He has been with The Times of India’s Hyderabad edition since its launch in 2000. He has also done an introductory course in film studies from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and also from the Central University of Kerala equipping himself with the knowledge of filmmaking for film criticism. He has authored four books. In his career spanning 34 years, he has worked for five newspapers and has also done television reporting. He was also a web journalist during internet’s infancy in the mid 1990s in India. He covers defence, politics, diaspora, innovation, administration, the film industry, Hyderabad city and Telangana state, and human interest stories. He is also a podcaster, blogger, does video reporting and makes documentaries.

End of Article