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Pawan Kalyan’s ex-wife Renu Desai warns trolls of legal action after 13 years of online abuse
Thirteen years after her divorce from actor and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, Renu Desai says the harassment has not stopped.
Renu Desai, who made her acting debut alongside Pawan Kalyan in Badri in 2000, addressed trolls in an Instagram video on Sunday
Actress and activist Renu Desai has warned social media users of legal action following a fresh wave of abusive comments targeting her personal life, including her 2012 divorce from Pawan Kalyan, actor and Deputy Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. In an Instagram video posted this week, Renu said she would approach the cybercrime authorities to identify those responsible and initiate appropriate action, adding that she has remained silent on the matter for far too long.
In the video, Renu addressed the obscene messages head on, expressing that she was deeply disturbed by how far people were willing to go. “I was in Kashi, wearing devi robes and fully covered. How dare you ask such disgusting questions about someone dressed like that?” she said.
Renu Desai also called out the broader mindset driving such behaviour, pointing out that people who cannot afford their next meal were using their phones to send her vulgar questions online. “This is not right. Stop this nonsense immediately,” she warned, adding, “Just because I work in films doesn’t give anyone the right to make nasty remarks. Having a phone doesn’t give you unlimited freedom. She described herself as a normal citizen and asked fans and followers to keep their comments within reasonable limits.
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Renu also revealed that she plans to lodge a police complaint and said she would not hesitate to go further. She warned that she would confront offenders by reaching out directly to their families and asking them whether this is how they raised their sons. “Many people on social media are frustrated, unhappy, and deeply depressed, both men and women. How easily people hate others without any reason,” Renu remarked. She ended the video by urging other women in similar situations to approach the police and not absorb the harassment in silence.
She wrote in her caption that if she comes across abusive messages again, she will make sure the cyber police track down those responsible, and that she has stayed silent long enough. “Enough is enough,” she said.
The warning comes after a press meet on the stray dog issue triggered widespread trolling, with online commentary quickly shifting from her activism to her personal life, her marriage, and her children.
Her emotional appeal against cruelty towards stray dogs and her criticism of how authorities were handling the issue drew widespread attention, and controversy followed after selective video clips went viral. Social media users linked her outspoken personality to her divorce and made personal comments about her marriage and her children.
The trolling did not start this year. Renu has said the harassment she has faced since her 2012 divorce has crossed all limits.
Renu Desai and Pawan Kalyan first met on the sets of the Puri Jagannadh directorial Badri (2000). They worked together again in Johnny (2003), a martial arts drama that Pawan wrote, directed, and starred in, with Renu playing the female lead. The two fell in love during those years on set. They married in January 2009 and have two children, a son named Akira Nandan and a daughter named Aadhya. The couple divorced in 2012. Pawan subsequently married Russian actor Anna Lezhneva, with whom he has two children.
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