Actor-politician Nandamuri Balakrishna found himself at the receiving end of a massive online backlash on Tuesday after he was seen assaulting a follower in a video that went viral on social media.
In the video, Mr. Balakrishna is seen chasing and thrashing a follower during a roadshow in Vizianagaram district held on Monday.
Reports said the follower came too close to the actor in a bid to take a selfie, which enraged the actor.
Netizens were quick to condemn the actor, who is also the TDP MLA from Hindupur.
“Is he an MLA or a goon?” asked a Twitter user, tagging the official handle of Chief Minister and TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu in the post to seek his response.
“Dear Balakrishna, you may be the biggest star in Andhra/Telangana. But how dare you treat common people like this? Shame on you,” wrote another. “CBN sir, why are you silent on Balakrishna’s behaviour during the election campaign? He keeps scolding common man with utmost vulgarity and no one talks about his cheap behaviour. Last time, he wrote an apology letter and now he did the same thing again (sic),” tweeted another.
“Even if the victim created some disturbance, how is it fair to manhandle him? Who is Mr. Balakrishna to thrash him?” stated a tweet. “At a time when CBN is campaigning in a disciplined way for TDP, this is what his party MLA and family member does for the same party,” said another tweet.
Not the first time
This is not the first time that the actor, popularly known as Balayya, has lost his cool. A week ago, a video of Mr. Balakrishna abusing a videographer went viral, forcing the actor-politician to issue an apology the next day. Mr. Balakrishna has also been in the news for losing his cool in similar incidents in the past.
