Siddharth Clarifies Stance on Actor's Social Responsibility Amid Controversy, Supports Telangana CM's Anti-Drug Drive

Siddharth clarifies support for Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's anti-drug initiative, emphasising actors' voluntary social responsibility. Controversy arose from his comments on actors' roles, prompting a clarification on his stance through social media, reaffirming solidarity with the government's efforts.

Hyderabad:Actor Siddharth has recently clarified his stance and expressed full support for Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy’s campaign against drug abuse. This comes amidst a controversy sparked by Siddharth’s comments during a press conference for the movie Indian 2 here on July 8.

In a media interaction, Siddharth addressed questions about the social responsibilities of actors, which led to some misunderstanding. He said, "My name is Siddharth. 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," the actor added.

However, later in the day, Siddharth took to Instagram to clear up the confusion. He posted a video reaffirming his support for CM Revanth Reddy’s anti-drug efforts, stating, "We are talking about zero tolerance in ‘Indian 2’ movie. Zero tolerance against corruption and zero tolerance against drugs."

Following the controversy, Siddharth in a video shared on his social media handle praised the CM’s persistent efforts against drugs, saying, "In a press meet related to the movie (Indian 2), 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.

For unversed, on July 2, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had urged the film industry to create awareness videos on drug abuse during an address at the Telangana Police Command And Control Centre in Hyderabad. He highlighted, "My suggestion to important people in cinema industry, you’re approaching govt for ticket prices hike when a movie gets released but you’re not fulfilling your social responsibility when it comes to curb cyber crime and drug use."

Regarding the movie Indian 2, which stars superstar Kamal Haasan and is a sequel to the 1996 film Indian, Siddharth expressed optimism. The film reunites Kamal and director S Shankar, with music by Anirudh Ravichander and writers Jayamohan, Kabilan Vairamuthu, and Lakshmi Saravanakumar on board.

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