'Gangs of Godavari' actress Anjali reacts after Nandamuri Balakrishna pushes her on stage: 'We share a great friendship'

Anjali and Nandamuri Balakrishna

Telugu star Nandamuri Balakrishna got embroiled in a controversy after a video of him from the pre-release event of the film 'Gangs of Godavari' surfaced online. He had attended the event as the chief guest. A video that did the rounds on social media saw him pushing actress Anjali on stage. The action led to a response of cheer and applause from the audience present at the event. Anjali, on the other hand, immediately laughed off the incident. However, netizens deemed this act inappropriate and called out the Telugu star for his conduct.

Hours after the social media outrage, actress Anjali broke her silence on the matter. She took to her X handle (formerly Twitter) and penned a note highlighting her bond with 'Balakrishna garu'. She also shared a highlight reel from the event which also included the footage of her getting pushed by Balayya as he is fondly referred to by his fans.

Anjali wrote, "I want to thank Balakrishna Garu for gracing the Gangs of Godavari pre-release event with his presence."

"I would like to express that Balakrishna garu and I have always maintained mutual respect for each other and We share a great friendship from a long time. It was wonderful to share the stage with him again," she added.

Anjali is known for doing performance-oriented roles in several hit Tamil and Telugu films such as ‘Angaadi Theru', ‘Engaeyum Eppothum', ‘Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu' and ‘Geethanjali'.

Netizen reaction to Balayya's act:

The video from the event soon went viral on social media on Thursday eliciting varied responses. Filmmaker Hansal Mehta and actor Nakuul Mehat also called out the satre for his inappropriate behaviour.

A user wrote, on Reddit, "Man, this is straight-up sad. I try my best to separate the art from the artist, but in this guy's case, it's damn near impossible. Poor woman could've fallen down, too."

"It's been known that balakrishna is a rude, drunken pervert. Yet these idiots hype him up by calling him ballayya and shit.People like him put TFI and telugu people in general light years behind. The day we make him irrelevant and widely disliked is the day we can say we've moved on from the dark ages of Telugu Cinema," wrote another user on the app.

During the same event, Balakrishna said that he doesn't want his son and aspiring actor Mokshagna to tread his path. "I don't want him to be inspired by me, although my fans would be upset with my decision,' he says and adds, "Mokshagna will be making his debut very soon and it will be a much-awaited film. I'll be behind him like a rock, but I wish he treks his own path," the actor was quoted as saying by Great Andhra.com.

He continued, "I want my son to take a cue from new-generation actors." However, Balakrishna claimed that he can match strides with younger generation heroes like Siddhu Jonnalagadda and Adivi Sesh and give them a tough fight. "I am in no mood to give up," he quipped.