Actress Lavanya Tripathi came out in strong defence of her father-in-law, Telugu cinema icon Chiranjeevi, after a journalist’s social media post accused the veteran star of gender bias over an old remark. The issue resurfaced after one of Chiranjeevi’s past comments, where he had spoken about hoping for a male grandchild, went viral online again. It drew criticism from a section of users who termed it sexist.
Reacting to the post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Lavanya, who is married to Chiranjeevi’s nephew Varun Tej, said she was disappointed and felt compelled to speak up. She stated that she generally avoids engaging with negativity on social media but found the remark upsetting.
She wrote, “I usually ignore tweets like this and let them pass on my timeline, but I didn’t expect it from you.”
Lavanya further called out the tone of the post, adding, “This tweet is in extremely poor taste, turning a genuinely happy moment into something unpleasant.” Defending Chiranjeevi’s values, she opened up about his conduct within the family, especially towards women. “You clearly don’t know how he treats the women in his family, especially his granddaughters. Very few men can do even 1% of what he does, so it’s best not to comment on people you don’t truly know,” she wrote.
The controversy stems from an earlier statement by Chiranjeevi in which he jokingly referred to himself as a “ladies’ hostel warden,” as he is the grandfather of four girls. He had also expressed hope that his son Ram Charan might have a son to carry forward the family legacy.
However, the comment was made in a light-hearted context at the time.
Ram Charan and his wife, Upasana Konidela, were blessed with twins, a baby boy and a baby girl, on Saturday, January 31. The joyous news was confirmed by Chiranjeevi on social media. In October 2025, the couple had announced Upasana's pregnancy by sharing a video from her godh bharai (baby shower).
