Row over Ram Charan visit to dargah while on ‘Ayyappa Deeksha’
Not only the actor, even composer AR Rahman has drawn the ire of Ayyappa devotees for inviting Ram Charan to the dargah, with many questioning his “intent”
Actor Ram Charan’s visit to a dargah while being on “Ayyappa Deeksha” has infuriated many Hindu devotees who claim he should not have visited a religious shrine of a different faith, especially a “graveyard”, while wearing “Ayyappa Mala”.
Not only the Telugu film actor, even celebrated composer AR Rahman has drawn the ire of Ayyappa devotees for inviting Ram Charan to the dargah.
Ram Charan visited the Kadapa Dargah in Andhra Pradesh as a chief guest for the 80th National Mushaira Ghazal event. However, a section of Hindu devotees demanded that the actor immediately withdraw from the “Deeksha” and apologize to the entire Hindu community.
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AR Rahman under fire too
The Ayyappa JAC in Telangana has reportedly sought a public apology from Ram Charan and asked him to clarify his stance, without which they have threatened to launch a protest. Some have even questioned Rahman’s intentions and asked whether he would accompany Ram Charan to Tirupati or Sabarimala.
While Ram Charan has so far maintained silence over the issue, his wife Upasana Konidela has posted a photo of his at the dargah on X and captioned it: “Faith unites, never divides. As Indians, we honor all paths to the divine. Our strength lies in unity. Ram Charan respecting other religions while following his own.”
Ram Charan’s father, veteran actor and politician Chiranjeevi, and uncle Pawan Kalyan, who is now the deputy chief minister of the state, are devout Hindus and the latter has positioned himself in state politics as a guardian of Sanatana Dharma.
