Tirumala scenes in a Telugu movie kicks a controversy

Tirumala: The holy town of Tirumala finds itself at the centre of controversy once more as security lapses come to light following the release of the Telugu film ‘35 Chinna Katha Kaadu’ on an OTT platform in recent months.

Scenes from the film, which went viral on social media on Monday, show the hero seated at the Akhilandam, directly opposite the revered Srivari temple, and other segments featuring Tirumala ghat roads. This has sparked outrage among devotees, given the long-standing ban on filming within the sacred precincts. Devotees expressed confusion and frustration, questioning how such filming was allowed to take place despite stringent restrictions. “How could this happen under the watchful eyes of the security forces?” one devotee asked, echoing widespread concerns.

This isn’t the first time the temple town has faced such incidents. In recent months, several individuals have caused controversy by creating reels and videos near the temple. ‘Bigg Boss’ fame Priyanka Jain recently filmed a prank video on the ghat road and just last week, another young woman made a reel featuring a song from the ‘Pushpa-2’ movie near Alipiri.

Tirumala’s security, which operates under a robust vigilance system stretching from Alipiri to the temple, has come under criticism for these repeated breaches. Many are questioning the effectiveness of the security apparatus in place. Though some cases were filed by the Tirumala police in recent times, the people at large were unaware of their logical conclusion with which it appears that the violators are taking the cases in a lighter vein.