The internet has been rocked by a video of a TV9news anchor ridiculing Telugu actor Vishwak Sen. Devi Nagavalli, a TV9 news anchor, can be seen in the clip asking the actor to leave the studio. The incident was triggered when Vishwak responded to Devi’s remarks about him.
He was reportedly invited onto the show for a debate regarding a distaseful “suicide prank” that had been carried out for the promotion of his upcoming film Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam. The prank was captured on video and showed Vishwak’s car being halted in the middle of the road by a man named Lakshman Tekumudi, who is well-known on social media for his movie reviews. Lakshman then threatened to immolate himself unless the actor’s character in the film, Arjun, gets married. This was a reference to Vishwak’s character in the film, who is a bachelor who is having trouble finding a spouse. The attempted suicide was later proven to be a prank organised by the actor and his team.
This prank video was the topic of discussion on TV9, with the anchor arguing whether the prank was appropriate or not.
The journalist and a few other guests, including an attorney, claimed that such prank videos were damaging to children and had a negative influence on them, calling them “acts of madness.” Devi Nagavalli even pushed for criminal charges against anyone who engages in similar pranks. Arun Kumar, an attorney, has even filed a complaint with the State Human Rights Commission regarding the prank.
In the viral clip from the TV debate, the actor can be heard protesting to Devi Nagavalli referring to him as as a “depressed person” and “Paagal Sen” (a reference to his previous film Paagal), implying that he was suffering from mental illness and had made the prank video as a result. Devi then told him to “get out” of the studio, to which the actor said, “F***ing you guys called me, I am least interested in being in your studio,” even as Devi continued to yell at him.
Vishwak eventually apologised for using an obscenity in front of the journalist, claiming that he had done nothing else wrong. He told NTV that his group agreed to stage the prank near his home. He argued that no ‘nuisance’ had been caused and that Lakshman had simply used water instead of petrol. The actor and those surrounding Lakshman can be seen giggling while attempting to stop him in the footage. “If anyone was inconvenienced in the neighborhood, the complaint should come from them. These people cannot complain on their behalf,” he said.
