Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.
Chinmayi Sripaada defends Anjali for laughing after Nandamuri Balakrishna pushes her: ‘Society refuses to hold men in power responsible’
After a video of Telugu star Nandamuri Balakrishna where he is seen pushing Anjali surfaced, trolls started targeting the young actor for laughing.

Telugu star Nandamuri Balakrishna has courted controversy after a viral video showed him pushing actor Anjali on stage during a promotional event. Despite being pushed, Anjali was seen laughing in the clip resulting in a certain section of social media users criticising her for her ‘casual’ reaction. After filmmaker Hansal Mehta slammed Balakrishna on X (formerly Twitter) and called him a ‘scumbag,’ singer Chinmayi Sripaada has condemned the behaviour of ‘men in power who misbehave’ and defended Anjali.
— Out of Context Telugu (@OutOfContextTel) May 29, 2024
The singer responded to the video on X with a scathing critique. “One of the biggest problems I see from people sharing this is the judgment of ‘Look at her laughing. She should have ___ 1. It is NOT possible to respond according to your spectator response as you watch this on your device. This most moral policing, holier than thou – pure as the driven snow – Harishchandra /Sri Ramachandramoorthy or their relative incarnates will fail to understand,” Chinmayi wrote while attacking the trolls who questioned Anjali for laughing.
She continued, “2. Society itself refuses to hold men in power who misbehave responsible; Especially when they come from money, caste and political power. Don’t come and tell women what to say and how to behave when you have everything to gain and nothing to lose.”
One of the biggest problems that I notice from people sharing this
“Look at her laughing. She should have _____”1. It is NOT possible to respond according to your spectator response as you watch this on your device. This most moral policing, holier than thou – pure as driven… https://t.co/nzTOlGJm0J
— Chinmayi Sripaada (@Chinmayi) May 30, 2024
When an X user criticised Chinmanyi’s stance, calling women “weak” and “soft” for tolerating men, the singer reacted, “LOL. You don’t do that? Do you mean you have never tolerated a horrible boss for the sake of your job and livelihood? Men have tolerated and decimated entire societies in the name of war.”

The widely circulated video shows Nandamuri Balakrishna as a special guest at the promotional event for Krishna Chaitanya’s upcoming Telugu film Gangs of Godavari. On stage, he first asks the film’s actors, Neha Shetty and Anjali, to step aside. When Anjali didn’t hear him, he pushed Anjali. However, Anjali seemed to take it sportingly and laughed it off.
The incident sparked outrage online, with one user commenting, “That horrible subhuman has been getting away with this behaviour for decades! When will he face consequences?” Another user wrote, “Balakrishna should apologize to Anjali by touching her feet. What kind of behaviour is this?” A tweet read, “His deranged fans think it’s a blessing for her to be touched by this wig-wearing pervert. This reflects everything wrong with society.”


Photos
Photos
- 01
- 02
- 03
- 04
- 05