Akkineni Nagarjuna filed a defamation suit against Konda Surekha at the Nampally court in Hyderabad. The Akkineni family is not only disappointed by the Minister’s statements but is also hurt.
Despite reports that they may not proceed legally, the family decided on Thursday to file a defamation complaint against the Minister for her remarks.
In a complaint filed in Hyderabad’s Nampally district, Nagarjuna Akkineni accused Congress leader Konda Surekha of deliberately spreading lies, fully aware that they were false, with the sole aim of tarnishing his personal, professional and family reputation. “The statement was made with malicious intent, designed to convey falsehoods to the public at large with the objective of damaging the complainant and his family’s reputation for political gain and sensationalism,” the complaint said. It further emphasised that “these actions constitute a criminal offence,” he said in his complaint.
Drawing flak over her comments blaming BRS leader KT Rama Rao for the divorce of actors Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya, Telangana Minister Konda Surekha on Thursday withdrew her comments that had made the Telugu cinema industry to rally behind their colleagues.
Samantha and Chaitanya spoke out against the Minister and stressed that their decision to separate was mutual. Speaking to the media, Surekha said she mentioned the names of the actors as she had turned emotional over the comments made by KTR about her.
“I had to criticise him (KTR). I do not have any personal animosity towards anyone. Mentioning the name of a family was accidental. I felt really bad after seeing her post (Samantha’s Instagram). Last night itself, I posted
a message unconditionally withdrawing my comments,” Surekha said.
Meanwhile, Surekha asserted she would not go back on the comments made against her by the BRS on social media and demanded an apology from KTR. On the legal notice sent by the BRS leader, Surekha said she would also proceed legally.
Meanwhile, for the first time, Rakul Preet Singh responded regarding her name being dragged in by politicians.
“I am totally apolitical and have nothing to do with any person/political party whatsoever. I request everybody to stop using my name maliciously to gain political mileage. Artistes and creative personalities should be kept out of the political slugfest and their names should not be used to grab headlines by linking them with fictitious stories,” Rakul said.
“The Telugu film industry is known worldwide for its creativity and professionalism. I’ve had a great journey in this beautiful industry and is still very much connected. It pains to hear such baseless and vicious rumours being spread about the women of this fraternity. What’s more disheartening is the fact that this is being done by another woman who is holding a very responsible post. For the sake of dignity, we choose to remain silent but it is misconstrued as weakness,” Rakul said.
Movie Artists Association President Vishnu Manchu in a statement on Thursday 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-seeking headlines.
“We, as the film fraternity, work hard to entertain and contribute to society, and it is my earnest request that personal lives be left out of public discourse,” he said.
On behalf of the film industry, he requested that families be spared unwarranted and harmful attention.
“I will not be a silent spectator if anyone tries to harm the film fraternity. We will not tolerate any such abuse. We are united in this,” Manchu said.
