Rashmika Mandanna is no stranger to the spotlight. From being hailed as the ¡®National Crush¡¯ to delivering box office hits across industries, she has built a massive fan base. But this time, she¡¯s in the headlines not for her films but for a political storm brewing around her name.
The BJP and Congress are locking horns over a comment made by a Karnataka Congress MLA, and Rashmika has been unwillingly dragged into the chaos. So, where exactly are her roots, and what¡¯s this controversy all about? Let¡¯s break it down.
Rashmika hails from Virajpet, a small town in the Kodagu district of Karnataka. She belongs to the indigenous Kodava community, known for its rich culture and warrior heritage. Born and raised in Karnataka, Rashmika studied in Coorg before moving to Bengaluru for higher education. Her journey into films began with modeling, and she made her acting debut with the Kannada film Kirik Party (2016), which turned out to be a blockbuster.
Today, she works in multiple film industries, from Telugu and Tamil to Hindi, gaining a pan-Indian fan following. But despite her roots in Karnataka, recent political statements have put her loyalty to the state under scrutiny.
It all started when Congress MLA Ravikumar Gowda Ganiga made a rather strong statement against Rashmika. In an interview on March 3, he accused the actress of disrespecting Karnataka after she reportedly refused to attend an event¡ªthe International Film Festival held in the state.
According to Gowda, a Karnataka legislator had personally visited Rashmika¡¯s home multiple times to invite her, but she allegedly turned down the request. What fueled the outrage was his claim that Rashmika said, ¡°I don¡¯t know where Karnataka is, I have my house in Hyderabad, and I don¡¯t have time.¡±
This statement, whether true or not, didn¡¯t sit well with Gowda, who went on to say: ¡°She must be taught a lesson.¡±
The moment this comment surfaced, it exploded into a full-fledged political controversy. Many saw Gowda¡¯s words as a public threat against Rashmika. The Kodava community, to which Rashmika belongs, was the first to stand up for her.
N.U. Nachappa, President of the Kodava National Council, strongly condemned Gowda¡¯s remark, saying, ¡°Rashmika Mandanna has reached where she is today because of her talent and hard work. She should not be harassed for making her own choices."
Taking it a step further, the Kodava National Council even wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Karnataka State Home Minister G. Parameshwar, demanding security for Rashmika and other women from the Kodava community. They argued that no individual should face such pressure over their personal or professional decisions.
The BJP wasted no time in hitting back at Congress. Karnataka BJP MLA Bharat Shetty slammed Gowda¡¯s remark, calling out the ¡°gunda¡± (goon) culture in Congress and accusing them of using Rashmika¡¯s name for political gain.
"Any person in the country has the right to come to a programme or not to come to a programme. The politicians coming out in the open and threatening her like this is not right. The people who are supposed to give protection are threatening instead. That's very wrong," Shetty said.
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar also weighed in, calling the comment proof of Congress¡¯ thuggish behavior and saying that no artist should be bullied into attending an event.
Interestingly, Rashmika has remained silent on the entire issue. She hasn¡¯t responded to the controversy, perhaps choosing to avoid adding fuel to the fire. However, her team issued a statement that read, ¡°The said news reports are completely false and do not have any element of truth. The statements attributed to Rashmika Mandanna and the entire story about someone approaching Rashmika Mandanna and she refusing to attend the Bengaluru film festival are incorrect.¡±
While the BJP and Congress continue their war of words, Rashmika seems to be keeping her focus on her upcoming film Sikandar headlined by Salman Khan releasing on Eid 2025. Whether she will eventually break her silence remains to be seen, but one thing is clear, this is a controversy she never asked for.
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