Actor Siddharth has released a video clarifying his full support for Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s anti-drug initiative. This clarification comes after controversy arose from Siddharth’s comments during a press conference related to the movie ‘Indian 2’.
During the press conference, Siddharth’s response to a question about actors’ social responsibility caused misunderstandings. He said, “I have been before the Telugu audience for 20 years. I collaborated with the government in united Andhra Pradesh from 2005 to 2011 promoting safe sex. My photo with a condom was used on billboards for this. That was me being responsible, not because a CM told me to do so.”
“If asked whether an actor already has a responsibility, I would say ‘No comments’ because I don’t understand that. Every actor is socially responsible. We act according to our conscience. If any CM requests us to do something, we will do it. No CM has told us, only if you do this, we will do something else,” he added.
Later in the day, Siddharth took to Instagram to clarify the misunderstanding. In a video, he reaffirmed his support for CM Revanth Reddy’s efforts against drug abuse, stating, “We are talking about zero tolerance in ‘Indian 2’ movie. Zero tolerance against corruption and zero tolerance against drugs. In a press meet related to the movie, while I was answering a question, some people have misunderstood it. I should immediately clear the misunderstanding. I completely support Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Telangana government in the fight against drugs.”
“Our children’s future is not in just their hands, but also ours. Safeguarding their future is our responsibility. I am 100 percent with Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and his government in their initiative and directives to involve the film industry to make a better society with the government. I have always supported social initiatives and will continue to do that. I only meant that nobody has forced us from the government and that we were doing it out of our own free will. I want to congratulate Chief Minister and his government on their persistent fight against drugs. We are with you sir,” he added.
On July 2, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy urged the film industry to create awareness videos on drug abuse during an address at the Command and Control Centre of Telangana Police in Hyderabad. He emphasized the importance of the film industry’s social responsibility, particularly in curbing cybercrime and drug use.
Meanwhile, Siddharth spoke about the upcoming movie ‘Indian 2’, a sequel to the 1996 film ‘Indian’, starring Kamal Haasan. Directed by S. Shankar, ‘Indian 2’ features Kamal Haasan, Rakul Preet Singh, and Kajal Aggarwal, with music by Anirudh Ravichander. The first poster of ‘Indian 2’ was unveiled during the Pongal festival in 2020.