Jr NTR, Nani and celebs call out Telangana minister's remarks on Telugu industry

Telugu actors Jr NTR, Allu Arjun, Megastar Chiranjeevi, Nani and several others lashed out at Telangana minister Konda Surekha for passing controversial remarks regarding actors in the Telugu film industry. She linked BRS president KT Rama Rao to Naga Chaitanya and Samantha's divorce.

In Short

• Jr NTR, Allu Arjun, Chiranjeevi slammed minister Konda Surekha for passing insensitive comments on film industry
• Nani, director Srikanth Odela and others condemned her speech
• Konda Surekha linked KTR to Naga Chaitanya and Samantha's divorce

Telugu actors Jr NTR, Allu Arjun, Megastar Chiranjeevi, Nani, director Srikanth Odela and several others slammed Telangana Congress minister Konda Surekha for her controversial remarks about Naga Chaitanya-Samantha's divorce and drug-related controversies in the Telugu film industry. Konda Surekha levelled allegations against Bharat Rashta Samiti (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao in her now-viral interview.

Allu Arjun, without mentioning Konda Surekha, wrote on Instagram, "I strongly condemn the baseless derogatory comments made about film personalities and film families. This behavior is deeply disrespectful and goes against the values of our Telugu culture. Such irresponsible actions should not be accepted as normal. I urge the parties involved to act more responsibly and respect individual privacy, especially towards women. We must promote respect and dignity in society as a whole (sic)."

Take a look:

Jr NTR was one of amongst the first few celebrities to call out Konda Surekha for her comments. He said that dragging personal lives into politics is a 'new low'. He shared his statement with the hashtag - #FilmIndustryWillNotTolerate.

Here's his post:

Megastar Chiranjeevi wrote that he was "pained to see the disgraceful remarks made by an honourable woman minister".

Nani, without mentioning Konda Surekha, wrote that it was irresponsible of a person who is sitting in a respectable position to make such comments.

Here's his post:

Actor-politician Khushbu Sundar wrote that one cannot make baseless and degrading statements about the film industry despite holding a respectable position.

Actor-producer Lakshmi Manchu mentioned that politicians who crave attention throw a bunch of actors under the bus.

Director Srikanth Odela, in his X post, wrote that power and position cannot buy anyone dignity.

Popular screenwriter and producer Kona Venkat mentioned that Konda Surekha's comments leave a bad precedent and asked her to apologise to the film industry and to the Akkineni family.

Congress minister Konda Surekha, in an interaction with reporters at an event, accused BRS president KT Rama Rao of hosting rave parties for film celebrities.

She said, "Many heroines have married quickly and exit the cinema field because of KTR’s impact on their lives," and linked him to the divorce of Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu.

The Akkineni family - Nagarjuna, Amala Akkineni, Naga Chaitanya and Akhil Akkineni - attacked Konda Surekha for their baseless allegations. Samantha Ruth Prabhu lashed out at the minister for dragging her into the political battle. She also asked the minister to keep her out of it.

After massive backlash, Konda Surekha retracted her statements about Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu's divorce.