You Can Get Away With Brihadeeswara Or Sabarimala, Not Tirupati: Kasturi Trolls Karthi's Family On Laddu Row

Actress Kasturi Shankar has stirred up controversy by resurfacing past incidents involving Sivakumar's family and their comments on Hindu religious practices, following actor Karthi's controversial remarks about the Tirupati laddu. Karthi, whose film Meiyazhagan is set to release soon, was drawn into a row after attempting to deflect a question about the sacred Tirupati laddu during a promotional event.

In a series of tweets, Kasturi explained the incident, pointing out that Karthi quickly apologized after backlash. "Kalyan's stern warning, Actor Karthi Sivakumar has quickly apologized and added that he too is a devotee of Lord Venkateswara. His movie is set to release soon, so this is understandable," she wrote.

She further elaborated on the controversy, stating that during the event, Karthi was repeatedly questioned about a meme involving the Tirupati laddu. While Karthi tried to brush off the matter with a joke, Kasturi criticized his response, suggesting that he should have handled it more seriously. "The anchor was being idiotic. Karthi tried to joke away the question, but in doing so, he ended up hurting many devotees," she noted.

Kasturi then invoked past controversies involving Karthi's family, including comments made by his father Sivakumar on the Sabarimala Temple and his sister-in-law Jyothika's remarks about the Brihadeeswara Temple.

"This is not the first time Karthi's family has gotten into controversy for comments about Sanatana practices. There were incidents involving Sivakumar sir's views on Sabari mala, and a furore that Jyotika's anti temple comment created. So today, it has become clear that One can loose talk about Tanjore brihadeeswara temple, or Sabarimala and get away with it. You can't mess with Tirupati Venkateswara Swamy devotees. Wokeism and Anti Hinduism is not welcome in Andhra. Om Namo Venkatesaya."

Sivakumar had previously welcomed the Supreme Court's ruling allowing women entry to the Sabarimala Temple, while Jyothika had faced backlash for urging people to donate to hospitals rather than temples, citing poor conditions in public hospitals compared to the well-maintained Brihadeeswara Temple. Kasturi concluded her tweets by stating that while comments on certain temples might go unnoticed, "You can't mess with Tirupati Venkateswara Swamy devotees. Wokeism and Anti-Hinduism is not welcome in Andhra."

The resurfacing of these incidents has reignited debates around religious sensitivity and celebrity comments on temple practices, particularly in Andhra Pradesh, where devotion to Lord Venkateswara remains strong.