Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], February 12 : Veteran actor Chiranjeevi has found himself at the centre of a social media storm following his purported remarks at the pre-release event of the upcoming Telugu film 'Brahma Anandam'.
The megastar who is immensely popular in the Telugu film industry, sparked outrage after stating his desire for a grandson to "continue the legacy."
The comments were purportedly made during the event on Tuesday when Chiranjeevi was shown a picture of himself with his granddaughters.
Reflecting on the family picture, the actor, who is also a Padma Vibhushan awardee is reported to have said, "Whenever I am at home, I don't feel like I am with my granddaughters. I feel like a ladies' hostel warden, all girls around me, no boys."
The actor further continued, "Charan, at least next time, give birth to a boy. It's my wish that my legacy should continue. This girl (Klin Kaara) is so sweet. I'm afraid he'll give birth to another girl. Lovely kids."
Chiranjeevi's comments were met with mixed reactions on social media, with some criticizing his statements as being rooted in outdated and sexist views.
One social media user on X wrote, "#Chiranjeevi has become a JOKER Lately, What he speaks is either Controversial or Misogynistic"
https://x.com/iPACTweets/status/1889573583367594045
Another wrote, "#Chiranjeevi is so casual while saying that he wishes to have a grandson from #RamCharan so that their legacy would continue. Don't daughters carry family legacy?"
https://x.com/WhatTheFuss_/status/1889605560841982364
On the reported remarks of actor Chiranjeevi, CPI-M leader Brinda Karat said, "It is really quite unfortunate and a matter of regret when well-known personalities who are considered opinion makers make such crass, sexist statements which reflect son preference cultures in a country where sex ratios are still abnormally biased in favour of boys."
"I don't think this is expected of a person like Chiranjeevi and he should make amends because he may have made a comment in a lighthearted manner, but people believe in such son preference cultures in our country, and it is such cultures which put pressure on the daughter-in-law to produce a son. He may have done it in a light hearted manner, but it does have serious repercussions. This is a kind of culture which coerces women to go in for sex determination tests and to abort a female foetus..." she said.
Congress MP Jebi Mather said, "...It is very sad...It is a very unfortunate statement that only a boy can carry forward the legacy...Boys and girls, both are our assets. We are proud of both. We should really expect them to be well behaved, individuals who do good work for the society..."
Chiranjeevi, who has two daughters, Sreeja Konidela and Sushmita Konidela, is a grandfather to four granddaughters--Navishka and Nivrati from Sreeja, and Samara and Samhitha from Sushmita.
His son, Ram Charan, and daughter-in-law, Upasana, welcomed their baby girl, Klin Kaara Konidela, in June 2023.
On the work front, Chiranjeevi will be seen next in 'Vishwambhara', a fantasy drama co-starring Trisha and Meenakshi Chaudhary.