Pawan Kalyan breaks silence on Karthi's apology in Tirupati laddu row

Pawan Kalyan, actor and Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, opened up about actor Karthi's apology in the Tirupati laddu row. The actor-politician said that people laughed at Karthi's light-hearted speech.

In Short

• Pawan Kalyan talked about Karthi's apology in the Tirupati laddu controversy
• He said that his light-hearted speech could have set a wrong precedent
• Pawan Kalyan explained the reason behind the clash

Pawan Kalyan, actor and Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, explained why it was necessary for actor Karthi to apologise in the Tirupati laddu row. Speaking to Thanthi TV, the actor-politician said that Karthi made a light-hearted speech when asked about the laddu controversy. He added that many people laughed at his comment, which could set a bad precedent. Pawan Kalyan also dismissed the fact that Karthi apologised, fearing repercussions for his film, Sathyam Sundaram.

Speaking to the regional Tamil channel, Pawan Kalyan said, "See, I'll tell you what happened. Karthi is a devotee. I have seen him and Suriya visiting Tirupati temple. He made a light-hearted speech. He did not speak anything wrong. It's not wrong in that sense. But, he knows what I meant. Actors are somebody who everyone looks up to. When you convey a message or crack a joke, it becomes a practice for everyone. "

When prodded why Karthi apologised, the Bheemla Nayak actor said, "Lots of people sitting behind him laughed at his remark. It's an insult."

The anchor then talked about the reports that Karthi apologised, fearing repercussions for his film, Sathyam Sundaram (Meiyazhagan in Tamil). Commenting on the same, he said, "No, no. I look at Tamil film industry as my brothers. My friends are all born and brought up in Chennai. How will I be against them?"

On September 23, Karthi attended the pre-release event of his film, Sathyam Sundaram, in Hyderabad. The host showed him a series of memes and one of them was about laddus. Karthi reacted instantly and said, "Ippudu laddu gurinchi maatladakodadu (we should not talk about laddu now), it's a sensitive topic manakoddadi (we don’t want)."

A day later, Pawan Kalyan retorted saying, "You’re joking about laddu...I saw how it was talked about at a movie event yesterday, how laddu is a sensitive issue. Don’t you ever say that, no. Don’t you ever dare to say that please. I respect you as actors, but when it comes to Sanatana Dharma, please, you have to think hundred times before you say a word.”

Soon after this controversy erupted, Karthi issued an apology and Pawan Kalyan accepted it.

The latest development in this controversy is the Supreme Court pulling up Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu for going public with allegations about Tirupati laddus. Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, on October 2, said that the Supreme Court never said that the prasadam at the Tirupati temple was not unadulterated. He also spoke about the violations that took place during the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) regime.