"Won't Tolerate": Ram Charan On Minister's Remark On Naga-Samantha Divorce

Actor Ram Charan on Thursday joined several other Telugu stars slamming Telangana Minister Konda Surekha for her remarks linking Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader KT Rama Rao with the divorce of actors Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu.

Mr Charan, who played one of the lead roles in the Oscar-winning film "RRR", said the film industry stands together and won't tolerate such "reckless behaviour" aimed at them.

"The statements made by Konda Surekha garu are irresponsible and baseless. Making vulgar public comments about respected individuals is shocking, especially coming from an elected leader who holds public office. This kind of slander aims to destroy the fundamentals of our society.," he said in a statement posted on X.

"Our private lives are sacred to us and deserve due respect. We are public figures, we must uplift, not tear one another," Mr Charan wrote further.

Ms Surekha on Wednesday alleged that KT Rama Rao, commonly known as KTR, was the reason behind Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu's divorce in 2021.

Both actors also released separate statements, calling the remarks "absolutely ridiculous" and asking the minister to be "responsible and respectful of individuals' privacy".

Mr Chaitanya's father and famous Telugu actor Akkineni Nagarjuna filed a defamation case against Ms Surekha, alleging that the minister's remarks damaged his family's reputation. 

Several cine personalities such as Chiranjeevi, junior NTR, Mahesh Babu, and Vijay Devarakonda also hit out at the minister, who withdrew her remarks on Thursday after a massive uproar.

Speaking to mediapersons, Ms Surekha said she had to take the names of the actors after she became emotional over the comments made by the KTR, the BRS' working president, about her.

"I had to criticise him (Rama Rao). I do not have any personal animosity towards anyone. Taking the name of a family was inadvertent. I felt really bad after seeing her Samantha's post," she said.