Singer and activist Chinmayi Sripaada strongly condemned the crowd behaviour after actress Nidhhi Agerwal was allegedly mobbed and manhandled in Hyderabad following the song launch event of her upcoming film The Raja Saab. A video of the incident has since gone viral and sparked outrage on social media.
The promotional event was attended by Nidhhi, and chaos reportedly broke out as the actress attempted to leave the venue.
In the video, first shared by Gulte on X (formerly known as Twitter), on December 17, Nidhhi can be seen trying to make her way into her car amid a large crowd of fans. Despite the presence of security personnel, she appears visibly distressed as people surround her vehicle, pushing and crowding around her.
After a prolonged struggle, the actress finally manages to get inside the car, looking shaken and upset by the ordeal. "Oh my God. What the hell was that?" she is heard saying after she stepped inside.
Reacting sharply to the footage, Chinmayi took to X to express her anger over the incident. "Pack of men behaving worse than hyenas. Actually why insult hyenas. Put ‘likeminded’ men together in a mob, they will harass a woman like this. Why doesn't some God take them all away and put them in a different planet?" she posted.
However, Chinmayi’s post triggered a heated debate online. Responding to a user who claimed that men face similar treatment in crowds and questioned why the issue was being framed as “men versus women,” Chinmayi replied sarcastically, “Yeah. It is the same when a man gets groped and a woman gets groped by rabid men. Forgot how our culture works, sorry :).”
When another user pointed out that some men in the video appeared to be protecting Nidhhi and pushing others away, Chinmayi responded, “Yeah remind me to think of the positives while she is being harassed by a mob.”
As of now, neither Nidhhi nor the makers of The Raja Saab have issued an official statement regarding the incident. However, the visuals have raised serious questions about crowd management, security arrangements at film events, and the safety of women in public spaces.
Nidhhi began her acting career in Bollywood with Munna Michael, starring Tiger Shroff, before shifting focus to South Indian cinema. She went on to establish herself with successful Telugu and Tamil films such as iSmart Shankar, Eeswaran, and Hari Hara Veera Mallu.
Directed by Maruthi, The Raja Saab is scheduled for a theatrical release on January 9, 2025. The film stars Prabhas in the lead role, alongside Nidhhi, Sanjay Dutt, Malavika Mohanan, and Riddhi Kumar.
