Vishnu Manchu to Prakash Raj over Tirupati laddu row: Not everything is your fight

Actor Vishnu Manchu has addressed his exchange with actor Prakash Raj on social media platform X regarding the Tirupati laddu adulteration controversy. The dispute arose after allegations of adulteration in the ghee used for offerings at the Tirumala temple prompted a response from Andhra Pradesh’s Deputy Chief Minister, Pawan Kalyan, who called for an investigation. Vishnu reacted to Prakash’s statement in which he accused Kalyan of spreading apprehensions instead of investigating the matter.
Addressing Prakash Raj directly, whom he refers to as “uncle,” Vishnu, also the president of the Movie Artists Association, stressed that he has no ill intentions toward the Singham actor. However, in this particular case, he disagreed with what Prakash said about Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, who is also a respected actor in the Indian film industry.
Kalyan’s post about the findings of animal fat (fish oil, pork fat, and beef fat) mixed in Tirupati Balaji prasad drew a reaction from Prakash Raj, who pointed out that the incident took place in Andhra Pradesh, where Pawan Kalyan is the Deputy Chief Minister.
He wrote on X, “Please investigate… Find out the culprits and take stringent action. Why are you spreading apprehensions and blowing up the issue nationally? …We have enough communal tensions in the country. (Thanks to your friends in the Center) (sic).”
Reacting to Prakash’s post, Vishnu told India Today, “For me, nobody ever painted any communal colour; nobody ever said that some other people did this on purpose. It was something wrong that happened, and they need to get to the bottom of it and clear it. We are already in a very sensitive atmosphere. Why do you want to paint something with communal colour when there was no communal colour?”
“There was nothing wrong in what Pawan Kalyan said. He said he was going to call for an investigation. Why do you want to pick it up piece by piece and say that what you are doing is wrong? Not everything is your fight; it was totally uncalled for,” added Vishnu Manchu.
Vishnu also refused to call the entire situation a “controversy,” stating that it was merely a response to a legitimate issue rather than something fabricated for public drama. He emphasised the need for accountability, saying, “As a devotee of Lord Balaji, whatever the officials have said so far is alarming, but going forward, we need to see that steps are taken to avoid such an unconventional thing.”
The actor also defended other actors, asserting that no one in the film industry has trivialised the matter. “It’s sacrilege, and nobody has made jokes or taken it lightly,” he remarked.
Earlier, Pawan Kalyan, while responding to Prakash Raj’s social media post, said that the film industry should not make light of the attack on Sanatana Dharma.