It has been six years now that former model-actor Renu Desai separated from Tollywood's mega-star Pawan Kalyan. All set to welcome a new chapter in her life, the Badri actress got engaged to a mystery man, in a private ceremony in Pune recently.
In a statement, as quoted by ETimes, Renu said, “I feel great right now. I feel happy and I’m excited to start this new journey. At this point, I just want to shut all the negativity out of my life and start afresh.”
However, the actress is reluctant to speak about her fiancé.
“He’s not from the film industry and is a private person. So, I don’t want to speak about him yet. All I can say is that we can’t wait to start this new journey together.”
Renu broke the merry news on her Instagram handle, along with a caption that read ‘Engaged’.
This news created a buzz like never before. There were people who were happy for Renu's future, and then was an unruly bunch, mostly Pawan Kalyan's fans who started calling Renu names and even threatened her. The implications were so bad that Renu had to change the privacy settings of her Instagram page.
While some fans openly threatened her of dire consequences if she remarries, others requested her not to “hurt their God”.
Condemning this and standing by what is right, an incensed Renu posted screenshots of some of the abusive comments and wrote, "This is a special category of crazy. I wonder how they are with their mother and sisters. I really worry about their mental health."
"Some of the threats were extremely scary. There was one person who threatened to kill me if I marry again. We were forced to take police action and got the tweet deleted. It’s scary because even though it’s a virtual threat, we don’t know what the person is really capable of,” says Renu.
Filmmaker and critic Mahesh Kathi, who was himself a victim of PK’s abusive fans, stood by Renu and said, “After all, PK is not just a movie star now, he’s a politician. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again - Pawan needs to rein in his fans and tell them to refrain from targeting his ex-wife, not just as a responsible politician, but also as a responsible human being who has lived with her for so many years," Kathi said.
He also reasoned that Pawan has moved on and married again, so why can't Renu too? "She has every right to do so,” he added.
The film critic feels that by not making a statement, the actor-politician is equally complicit. “His silence only encourages his fans to keep trolling anybody and everybody. When their victim is a woman, it just reflects their patriarchal and feudal mindset. This silence from PK will only propagate this patriarchal mindset," said Kathi.
Filmmaker Nandini Reddy too supports Renu and has criticised the insensible Pawan fans.
In a statement to ETimes, she said, "Everybody feels strong enough to be a thug on social media. These are basically jobless fringe elements who get a kick out of ganging up against famous people. Renu Desai is legally divorced from Pawan Kalyan and is free to marry anyone she pleases. And Pawan is a very sensible, liberal person and I’m sure she has his good wishes. Who are these so-called fans to feel bad about anything?”
