The private lives of Telugu filmstars
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Divorces
Directors/ As in 2023 Jan
Telugu film celebs whose marriages didn't last longer/ ETimes.in / Feb 3, 2023
Telugu film directors whose marriages didn’t pass the testing times.
AL Vijay Tamil-Telugu director AL Vijay who made Telugu films such as Abhinetri in 2016, Kanam in 2018, and Abhinetri 2 in 2019 got married to actress Amala Paul in 2014 after being in a relationship with her for a period. However, the marriage could only last for 3 years and they parted ways due to reasons known to them. Later, AL Vijay married R.Aishwarya in 2019.
Balaji Mohan ‘Love Failure ' (2012) writer-director Balaji Mohan who married Aruna in 2012 in an arranged marriage setup, divorced her a year later and remarried actress Dhanya Balakrishna in 2022 after being single for almost a decade. He is said to be born to a Telugu father and Tamil mother settled in Chennai. Dhanya worked as an his assistant on couple of his films before becoming his 2nd wife.
Kovelamudi Prakash Veteran director K.Raghavendra Rao’s son, Screenwriter and director Prakash Kovelamudi who made films such as ‘Once Upon a Warrior’ (2011), ‘Size Zero’(2015), and award-winning 2004 film ‘Bommalata’, tied the knot to a Mumbai-based film writer Kanika Dhillon grandly in Hyderabad after dating each other. However, their marriage didn't last long as within four years of their marriage, Kanika Dhillon divorced Prakash and married fellow writer, Himanshu Sharma in the year 2021.
Krish, Director Tollywood director Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi aka Krish who made multi-genre films in multiple languages got married to a Telugu doctor based in Hyderabad and is now rumoured to have divorced her over compatibility issues. Currently, he is directing a Pan-India film ‘Hari Hara Veera Mallu’ starring Powerstar Pawan Kalyan in the lead role. Krish married Ramya Velaga in 2016 is reported to have separated from her with mutual consent in 2021.
Ram Gopal Varma Known for his crime dramas and gangster films Ram Gopal Varma discussed much love and marriage in a few of his films such as 'Shiva' 1989, 'Prema Katha' 1999, and 'Love Ke liye Kuch Bhi Karega' 2001. Got Married to Ratna and had been together for long until their daughter grew up and Ramu reportedly divorced her a few years before of his daughter's marriage and both of them reportedly live alone.
Selva Raghavan Tamil – Telugu Director Selva Raghavan who worked with Sonia Agarwal in back-to-back films, married her in 2006. Unfortunately, the marriage could only last for 4 years. After divorcing Sonia, Selva married Gitanjali Raman in the year 2011. Currently, he has 3 children with Gitanjali.
There are a few other film directors who too have been in news multiple times rumoured to have been separated or applied for divorce such as Tollywood's writer-director Srinu Vaitla, and Malayali director Priyadarshan who made straight Telugu films such as 'Nirnayam' with Nagarjuna and 'Gaandeevam' with Balakrishna.
Drugs
The 2017 scandal
Photo: Sandeep Shrivastwa
The drug probe in Telangana is snowballing into a major embarrassment for the Telugu film industry with at least ten stars facing investigation.
The ongoing investigation by the Special Investigation Team of the Telangana excise and prohibition enforcement department into the drug peddling racket has shaken the Telugu film industry like never before.
PTI
Following is the timeline of scandal which began to unfold at the beginning of this month.
1. The arrest of a couple of drug peddlers on July 2 blew the lid off the racket. Calvin Mascarenhas (28) and Brendon Ben (20), suspected kingpins of the drug racket, reportedly told the SIT that they were regularly supplying high-end drugs like lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and methylenedioxy- methamphetamine (MDMA) to people in the corporate sector, students and celebrities in the Telugu film industry.
2. The SIT discreetly questioned students belonging to some corporate schools and also their parents. They did not reveal the names of schools and students but advised all such schools and colleges and parents to keep tabs on their wards to end drug addiction.
3. The crackdown on Tollywood which is believed to be the major narcotic market caused a sensation. Though excise officials had also questioned a few small-time Tollywood actors in the past in dug probes, but this time SIT officials served notices to a dozen film stars seeking to question them for alleged connections with the arrested peddlers, particularly Calvin.
4. Those who were summoned for questioning by the SIT include director Puri Jagannath (who made several hit Telugu films like Pokiri, Idiot, Loafer, Boss, Temper, Desamuduru and a couple of big Hindi films like Wanted and Budda Hoga Tera Baap), heroes Ravi Teja, Navdeep, Tarun, Nandu, Tanish, villain-cum-character actor Subba Raju, heroine Charmee, dancer Mumaith Khan , cinematographer Shyam K Naidu and art director Chinna. A few others are also likely to receive notices from the SIT shortly.
5. Puri Jagannath was the first celebrity to be quizzed on July 19. He was grilled for more than 10 hours for his alleged links with Calvin who was seen with the director in a few film functions. The SIT collected Jagannath’s his blood, hair and nail samples for medical examination to find out whether he had consumed any drugs or not.
6. Subbaraju of Baahubali fame, who was questioned for over 11 hours, is said to have given vital clues about alleged nexus between Tollywood and drug peddlers. He, however, said he had never consumed drugs.
7. Another famous actor Tarun was also quizzed for nearly 12 hours. The SIT reportedly questioned him about taking drugs in a pub he had started in 2009. The pub is now closed.
8. Navdeep was also questioned for nearly 11 hours, but he refused to divulge any information to the authorities. He is learnt to have some partnership in a pub, which was regularly visited by drug peddlers. Shyam K Naidu and Chinna were also questioned as witnesses as they were closely linked to Puri Jagannath.
9. Actress Charmee challenged the method of interrogation by the SIT authorities in the Hyderabad high court. The court directed that she be questioned only by women officers and that the officers cannot collect her blood, nail and hair samples without her consent. The interrogation of Charmee began at 10 am on Wednesday.
Marriages
Inter-community marriages
There are also several marriages that take place between different castes, communities, and faiths in Tollywood, those are leading a happy life, if we get into those happy families that have inter-caste marriages.
We have (Late) Hari Krishna x Shalini, Nagarjuna x Amala, Srikanth and Ooha, Mahesh Babu and Namrata Shirodkar, Allu Arjun and Sneha Reddy, Manchu Vishnu x Viranica Reddy and others, Etimes has compiled a list of Telugu actors who have tied their wedding knot hailing from different communities
Aadhi – Nikki Galrani Telugu actor Aadhi Pinisetty who belongs to a certain community married Bengaluru-based Nikki Galrani who belongs to a different community after both dating for a while. They both worked together in films such as 'Yagavarayinum Naa Kaakka' (2015), 'Maragadha Naanayam' (2017), 'Sivudu (2022)' got engaged on 24th March 2022 and the couple got married on 18th May 2022.
Alia Bhatt – Ranbir Kapoor 'RRR' actress Alia Bhatt who played the role of 'Sita' alongside Ram Charan was always reluctant to discuss her personal life publicly married her co-star Ranbir Kapoor in 'Brahmastra' . They both dated for four years before getting married in a traditional Hindu ceremony at their apartment in Mumbai and she also gave birth to their daughter named Raha.
Hansika Motwani – Sohael Kathuria Hansika Motwani who starred in Telugu films such as 'Desha Muduru', 'Kandireega', 'Billa' and others was born in Bombay to a certain community is said to have converted to Buddhism and says she strongly Believes in its principles and married her longtime Boyfriend, businessman Sohael Khaturiya on 4th December 2022 in place in Jaipur.
Kiara Advani – Sidharth Malhotra Alia Advani aka Kiara Advani who played in several Telugu and Hindi language films and currently acting in Ramcharan’s #RC15 has a mixed ethnicity and got married to a Punjabi boy Sidharth Malhotra this year in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan in a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony. Kiara and Sidharth wedding reception in Mumbai and Delhi has seen lots of film and business celebrities turning up currently their pics and videos are going viral.
Madhu Shalini – Gokul Anand Model turned Telugu actress Madhu Shalini who has starred in Telugu films such as 'Goodachari', 'King', 'Vaadu-Veedu' and 'Oka V Chitram', is born to parents who had mixed-faith marriage. She got into the wedlock with Tamil-Malayalam actor Gokul last year and they both are living happily in Chennai.
Manjima Mohan – Gautam Karthik Malayalam actress Manjima Mohan who acted with Naga Chaitanya in 'Sahasam Swasaga Sagipo' married a Tamil actor Gautham Karthik after working together in 'Devarattam' (2019) a Tamil language action drama film. Currently she is working in Tamil Telugu bilingual 'October 31st Ladies Night'.
Mouni Roy – Suraj Nambiar ‘KGF Chapter 1’, ‘Run’, and ‘Brahmastra’ actress Mouni Roy who is a Bengali girl married a Malayali Businessman Suraj Nambiar in a traditional Bengali and Malayali ceremonies in Panaji, Goa last year
Naga Shaurya – Anusha Shetty Telugu actor and lover boy Naga Shaurya who belonged to a certain community in Andhra Pradesh has lots of fan following in Telugu states itself and lots of actresses also expressed their love for him, but the ‘Phalana Abbayi Phalana Ammayi’ actor chose to marry outside his community, language and profession. Accordingly, he got into wedlock with a Kannada girl based in Bangalore with a big fat wedding event.
Nayanthara – Vignesh Shivn South actress Nayanthara who was brought up as a Christian, converted to Hinduism on 7th August 2011 at the Arya Samaj Temple in Chennai and married a Tamil director going way out of her community and religion on 9th June 2022 in Mahabalipuram In October 2022. They have announced the birth of twin children through surrogacy lately.
Sharwanand – Rithika Reddy Telugu actor Shawanand who belongs to a certain community got into an Inter-caste marriage with a US-based techie and a girl belonging to a political family in Andhra Pradesh. They got officially engaged recently in Hyderabad with the consent of both families and their wedding will happen grandly in Hyderabad soon.
Sex Scandals
Prostitution and Telugu actresses
Telugu film industry has made a big contribution to growth of Indian cinema in last 80 years. It would not be wrong to say that it has also a lion share in the list of the actresses, who are involved in the flesh trade.
The latest addition to the list of such actresses is none other than actress Aish Ansari, who has starred Tollywood movie Encounter.
Actress Aish Ansari, who has also played small roles in Hindi films like Chalte Chalte and Om Shanti Om, has been caught red handed, while she was engaged in sex trade activities on Tuesday, November 05, 2013. The Jodhpur Police have arrested the item girl along with three other men, when she was entering the Hotel Takht Vilas in Raikabagh Road with them. The high profile sex racket was said to be operated online. "One of our Special Team's constables was informed that a model has been spotted with three youth outside Hotel Takht Vilas. A team led by SP (East), along with supporting teams from Uday Mandir and Ratanada police stations, raided the place and arrested the accused," a website quotes a police official as saying.
Aish Ansari During the interrogation, the police official have found out that Aish Ansari offered her services in all prime cities across India. She was even arranging foreign models on demand of customers.
Bhuvaneswari Glamourous actress Bhuvaneswari was arrested on October 1, 2009 for allegedly running flesh trade at her Shastri Nagar apartment in Chennai. It was her second arrest. She had been arrested seven years ago on similar charges and was later acquitted.
Kinnera Actress Kinnera, who has acted as heroine in few Telugu films, reportedly joined the trade as a sex broker. In a News Channel's sting operation, she was seen telling the in and outs of Tollywood and grab roles in their own style by convincing producers and directors.
Saira Banu and Jyothi Telugu actress Saira Banu, Jyothi were arrested for their alleged involvement in a prostitution racket. On August 23, 2010, the Hyderabad police busted the racket at Spring Heaven Apartments in Begumpet, Hyderabad.
Sravani Sravani, who has featured in Telugu serials like Himabindu and Laya, was caught red handed in hi-profile sex rocket busted in Madhapur on October 03, 2013. After getting a lead, special operation task force raided apartment number 203 of fortune towers in Madhapur
Yamuna Popular actress Yamuna was arrested by the Bangalore police for her alleged involvement in a prostitution racket in the ITC Royal Gardenia, a five star hotel, situated on Vittal Mallya road in Bangalore in January, 2011. Tamil Actress Yamuna, caught in the prostitution Racket. Yamuna, was indulged in prostitution for at least five years (2006-11), for star hotels. Yamuna acted in many Telgu movies. Yamuna presently busy with assignments in some TV serials. Yamuna was caught red-handed by Bangalore Task Force police while she was involved in prostitution on Thursday.
She was involved with Mr Venugopal, proprietor of a Bangalore based software firm and another person. These person are running Hi-Tech prostitution Racket, in seven-star Sapta Tara Hotel.
2018: Scandal in the USA
The Chicago Tribune report
Photograph: Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune
The young Indian actress arrived at O’Hare International Airport last Christmas Eve on a flight from Abu Dhabi.
Carrying a temporary visa, she told customs agents she had come to the U.S. to attend an Indian association event at the behest of her manager and would be staying only a couple weeks.
But federal prosecutors say that story was a ruse concocted by the actress’ manager. And he wasn’t helping her with her film career — he was her pimp.
Recently unsealed federal charges accuse a Chicago couple of Indian descent of running a high-end prostitution ring to lure actresses from Tollywood — a nickname for the lively Telugu-language film scene in southern India — to the U.S. and advertise them for sex at Indian conferences and cultural events across the country.
The ring charged clients up to $3,000 for each sexual encounter, according to a 42-page criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
While here on temporary visas, at least five actresses were sometimes forced to stay in a dingy, two-story apartment building in Chicago’s Belmont Cragin neighborhood waiting for their next “date,” the charges alleged. They also met clients in hotels at conferences in Dallas, New Jersey and Washington.
The prostitution scheme was allegedly masterminded by Kishan Modugumudi, 34, an Indian businessman who rose to become a player in the Tollywood movie industry and co-produced several hit films.
The complaint alleged that Modugumudi threatened the life of one of the actresses and her family if she told law enforcement the truth about what she did while in the country.
Modugumudi told the woman, identified in the charges only as Victim A, that “it would be nothing for him to harm her if she talked to the police about him because she is small and unknown, not a big actress,” the complaint alleged. “(He) further stated he had a copy of her passport with her family's name and address in it.”
Also charged was Modugumudi’s wife, Chandra, 31, who allegedly kept detailed ledgers of the sex acts performed by each girl, including where they occurred and how much they collected.
Federal agents discovered the ledgers when they searched the Modugumudis’ apartment in the 5700 block of West Belden Avenue in February, according to the complaint. They also found more than 70 condoms divided up into “multiple Ziplock bags.”
Agents later obtained a search warrant for Kishan Modugumudi’s email accounts and discovered a note written by Victim A in December begging him to stop harassing and threatening her, according to the complaint.
“Please do not call me and don't try to contact me,” the woman allegedly wrote. “It was very unpleasant doing business with you and I don't want to do any business with you now or in future. If you try contacting me again, I'll have to make formal complaint.”
Modugumudi and his wife have been in federal custody since agents arrested them in late April in suburban Washington, D.C., on a warrant, records show.
The criminal complaint filed against Modugumudi and his wife was unusual because sex crimes charged in federal court typically involve child victims or women sold into sexual slavery, not traditional prostitution.
In this case, some of the alleged victims of the scheme appeared less than cooperative when questioned by U.S. authorities — including Victim A, who claimed that she never actually had sex with clients but just spent time with them and “asked for help.”
A client interviewed as part of the investigation also tried to mislead agents by saying he’d had conversations with Modugumudi’s wife — whom he knew as “Vebha Jayam” — about “the price to have sex with actresses” but never actually went through with the proposition, according to the complaint.
That client, identified as Individual G, later acknowledged meeting Chandra Modugumudi in the lobby of the Comfort Suites at O'Hare in 2016 and paying her $1,110 in cash to have sex with an actress who was staying in one of the rooms there, according to the complaint.
In addition to emails discussing the scheme, authorities uncovered dozens of text messages from Chandra’s phone in which she appeared to haggle with clients over which girls were available and the prices for each, according to the complaint. Often, she would send photos of an actress available for a date while negotiating.
One text conversation from December 2016 showed that after Chandra sent photos of one girl to a potential client, he responded, “For me?” with a smiley face emoticon, according to the complaint.
In another conversation, an actress working for the prostitution ring, identified as Victim D, texted to Chandra that she had just finished performing oral sex on a client.
“He is very happy,” Victim D wrote, according to the complaint.
“Ok,” Chandra replied, adding a “thumbs up” emoji.
jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @jmetr22b
Additional details from The Times of India
US feds bust Tollywood sex racket, production manager couple held | Kaplan Herald This seems to be an article from The Times of India, reproduced by Kaplan Herald of Louisiana.
According to the criminal complaint filed in the court, (a copy of which is with The Times of India), the offences took place from May 11, 2017 to January 22, 2018.
The couple purchased airline tickets and booked hotel rooms for the victims and harboured them either at Modugumudi’s residence in Chicago or hotel rooms across the country. “The accused would take the victims to Telugu and other Indian conferences held across the US to identify potential customers who would pay them to engage in commercial sex,” the HSI alleged in the complaint.
Federal agents recorded the statement of victims, hotel records and statement of customers acknowledging the purchase of commercial sex acts with a Telugu actress. When the US border patrol conducted a search on the accused couple, they found documents, credit cards and a handwritten note on Maritto Hotel stationery, which proved to be clinching evidence.
On the note, the name of a Telugu filmstar was written and ‘Washington DC’ and ‘January 19 morning’, ‘Room Number 2018’ ‘two times” and later Room No. 404 ‘one time’ was written.
During the raids on February 16, 2018, based on a federal search warrant at the couple’s residence in Chicago, law enforcement …seized copies of a letter written by the Amercial Telugu Association (ATA) to the US consul general at Hyderabad requesting visa for specific individuals.
A copy of the appointment letter for B1-B2 visa of the US consulate was also found.
The US court document revealed that the filmstar, who is a survivor, came to the US to attend the Telugu Association of Southern California (TAS) star night event in California on November 8, 2017.
However, she arrived in the US two days after the TAS event and travelled to Chicago for another conference instead of going to California when agents became suspicious and began a probe.
Starlet Sri Reddy , who hit headlines for fighting the casting couch menace in Tollywood, told the media on Friday that the NRI couple had approached her too. “Usually when artists fail to get offers, they go to the US and are lured into prostitution. Artists are paid over $1,000, depending on their popularity,” she said.
Tollywood sources cite videos of the two actresses attending Telugu Association conferences in the US in which one of them thanked Sreeraj for helping her participate in the event in 2016. Sreeraj was also seen attending the event. Following the expose, Movie Artists Association has decided to hold a meeting on June 24 to discuss the issue.
In 2016, two actors Anasuya and Sampoornesh Babu criticised Sreeraj Chennupati for his alleged misbehaviour while extending an invite for a Telugu conference in the States.
Actor Anasuya told TOI, “I haven’t visited the United States for a long time. I attended an event with music composer Devisriprasad way back in 2014. In 2016, Sreeraj contacted me from his American number, asking me to attend a Telugu association event. I was uncomfortable with the way he spoke. He was talking about making a commitment. I refused to attend the event. Despite my refusal, he put my picture on poster. I tweeted saying, I have nothing to with the event.”
How the racket was busted
The charge
The accused, Kishan Modugumudi and Chandrakala Modugumudi, both natives of Hyderabad but illegally living in the US, took Tollywood actresses and models to USA in the name of various conferences and ‘star nights’ but conducted a prostitution racket instead
Modus operandi
- Tollywood actresses, models and anchors were taken on B1 and B2 visitor visas to USA
- The accused collected $1,000 to $3,000 for ‘one-time’ sex with the actresses
- At least 76 airline tickets were purchased from November 8, 2016 to November 29, 2017
- Most bookings were made at Comfort Suites in Schiller Park, Illinois in the name of Kishan and Vebha
How the racket was busted
- One of the victims reached US to attend Telugu Association of Southern California (TASC) star night event in California on Nov 8, 2017
- But she reached two days after the event and travelled to Chicago, raising suspicions of the Homeland Security Investigations
- On probe, the victim said she came to attend another conference of North America Telugu Society (NATS) held in Schaumburg, Illinois, on November 25, 2017
- When contacted, NATS officials said they had no conference on that day and were unfamiliar with the actress
- After sustained interrogation, the actress spilled the beans on the racket
Federal agents retrieved text messages from Kishan Modugumudi’s cell phones that contained conversations between him and customers.
Sex Scandals: II
Celebrity Sex Scandals!
Divya Sri: Divya Sri, who acted in the Telugu film B Tech Babu was caught by Police for being involved in prostitution racket in a house in Guntur. The police apparently raided a house after a tipoff, where the actress was caught red-handed
Kinnera: Telugu actress Kinnera was caught in a sting operation where she lured wannabe actors to compromise for success.
Saira Banu: A few years back, Telugu film actresses Saira Banu and Jyoti were caught red-handed in a prostitution racket busted by Hyderabad police. Saira, who played lead role in few Telugu films, and Jyoti, a supporting actress in many films, were arrested along with a woman from Uzbekistan and their customers from an apartment in the upscale Kundan Bagh neighbourhood.
Shweta Basu Prasad: The entire country was shocked when Makdee actress Shweta Basu Prasad was caught in a compromising position in a luxury hotel in Hyderabad. This apparently wasn't the first time that Shweta has been embroiled in such a controversy and after being caught, the actress revealed that it is quite common for heroines to turn to prostitution.
However, in Dec 2014 a Hyderabad sessions court gave a clean chit to actress Shweta Basu Prasad who was arrested in connection with a sex racket.
See also the page Shweta Basu Prasad.
Yamuna: In 2011, South Indian [Tamil/ Telugu/ Kannada] actress Yamuna was arrested in prostitution racket case in Bangalore.
And also
Private lives of famous Indians
Private lives of stars from Bengali cinema
Private lives of Indian (Mumbai) stars
The private lives of Indian politicians
The private lives of Pakistani filmstars
The private lives of Tamil filmstars
The private lives of Telugu filmstars
