‘He Didn’t Mean It That Way’: Niharika on Chiranjeevi

The Rakasa teaser, starring Sangeeth Shobhan and produced by Niharika Konidela, was released today. The teaser launch event quickly turned into a talking point because of the remarks Niharika made on stage.

During the interaction, a reporter asked her about the recent controversy surrounding her uncle, Chiranjeevi. At the success event of his latest film Mana Shankara Varaprasad Garu, Chiranjeevi had stated that there is no such thing as casting couch in the Telugu film industry. He added that the industry behaves like a mirror and that if someone had a bitter experience, it might be due to their own conduct. His comments triggered strong negative reactions online. Many social media users, including singer Chinmayi Sripada, accused him of denying systemic problems and indirectly blaming victims.

When asked to respond to the controversy, Niharika said that the term casting couch carries a very broad meaning. She suggested that her uncle might have spoken from a wider perspective and did not literally mean that such issues never exist. She admitted that his words created confusion but clarified that she believes he did not intend to deny the problem completely.

During the same event, the anchor asked her why she mostly works with debut directors. Niharika replied that established and successful directors don’t approach her with scripts.