Anjali responds to criticism against Balakrishna, says they have always maintained respect for each other

Ever since a video of actor Nandamuri Balakrishna pushing Anjali surfaced on social media, the Bhagavanth Kesari actor has been in the receiving end of backlash for his behaviour. Now, Anjali has defended the star in her latest social media post and said that they have always maintained mutual respect for each other.

In a post on X, she wrote, "I want to thank Balakrishna Garu for gracing the Gangs of Godavari pre-release event with his presence. I would like to express that Balakrishna garu and I have always maintained mutual respect for each other and We share a great friendship from a long time. It was wonderful to share the stage with him again."

Nandamuri Balakrishna was a chief guest at a pre-release event for Anjali's film Gangs Of Godavari. A video that went viral on social media showed Balakrishna pushing Anjali away with his left hand after asking her to move aside on the stage. It also showed Anjali laughing and high-fiving Balakrishna soon after the incident. Gangs of Godavari star Neha Sshetty also shared the stage with him and Anjali.

Hours before Anjali broke her silence on the incident, Gangs of Godavari star Vishwak Sen and producer Naga Vamsi had come out in Balakrishna's defence. Vishwak and Vamsi justified the veteran superstar's behaviour during their press meet for the upcoming film. Vishwak said, "Everyone is reacting only to a portion of the video; no one saw what happened afterwards." He further added, "Balakrishna is such a good man; he will take a serious matter jovially as well."

On the other hand, Vamsi said, "Suppose there are three people, and I ask you to move and you do not, so I casually push you. This is all that happened there."

However, many celebrities found Balakrishna's behaviour problematic. Singer Chinmayi Sripaada stated, "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."

On the other hand, actor Nakuul Mehta said, "Not one person expressed their discomfort. Not one. Ridiculous behaviour by the gent."