The untimely demise of actress Soundarya in 2004 made headlines recently as a man from Telangana lodged a police complaint accusing veteran actor Mohan Babu of being connected to Soundarya’s tragic death in a plane crash.Mohan Babu’s son, actor Vishnu Manchu, recently addressed the emotional toll Soundarya’s passing took on his father and how the recent allegation has affected their family.
In a conversation with The Indian Express, Vishnu described the claims as nothing more than a “sensationalised” attempt to stir controversy. He stated that even the police determined the complainant to be mentally unstable. He shared that a “mad” man filed a complaint against his father nearly 20 years after Soundarya’s death, and the police confirmed that the individual was mentally unstable before dismissing the petition.Mohan Babu’s reaction to Soundarya’s deathVishnu further recalled the day Soundarya died and how the news devastated his father, who had shared a close personal bond with the late actress. He revealed that Mohan Babu stopped filming midway upon hearing the news of her death. Vishnu also recounted the moment he heard the news and how he struggled to process it. “I was in the editing room when someone came and told me, ‘Soundarya is no more.’ I was like, ‘What are you saying? She’s supposed to come shoot with us in three days… how can this be possible?’ Then they told me she had died in a plane crash,” he said.He added that Mohan Babu was the last person on set to learn of her passing. Everyone else on set had already heard the news but lacked the courage to break it to Mohan, who was still filming. “I quietly went and sat next to him. He asked me, ‘What happened?’ I looked at the director, who gestured for me to break the news to him — and I did. As soon as I told my father, he began to howl. He was very close to her,” Vishnu recalled.Vishnu about public scrutinyVishnu did not hold back in criticising the media for giving attention to such baseless allegations. He said the real damage was not caused by the man who filed the complaint, but by those who gave him a platform. “The mad man is not the main culprit — it’s the media that gave him footage. There are many mad men in this country. We can’t give footage to all of them. Our family went through a lot of pain and trauma because of this,” he added.The Manchu family also reached out to Soundarya’s former husband, Raghu GS, who has since remarried and moved on with his life. He was urged to publicly clarify the situation and support the Manchu family’s position.Over the years, the Manchu family has weathered its share of controversies. Vishnu acknowledged that navigating the film industry has made him somewhat numb to rumours and public drama, even though it still takes a toll. He mentioned that even his children are now accustomed to such situations, and he hopes they pursue careers in entertainment while remaining unaffected by rumours.Work frontMeanwhile, Vishnu is preparing for the release of Kannappa, which features a star-studded cast including Prabhas, Mohanlal, and Akshay Kumar. The film is scheduled to hit theatres on June 27.
