Hansal Mehta comments on the Nagarjuna airport controversy; reveals a massive star refused to meet his differently-abled son despite reaching out

Nagarjuna’s recent visit to Mumbai caught attention for unfortunate reasons. A video shared by the paparazzi showed one of the actor’s bodyguards pushing a specially-abled man who had approached Nagarjuna. The video quickly went viral, prompting the actor to apologise on social media.

Director Jai Mehta responded with a lengthy note, emphasising the need for celebrities to be more mindful of those around them and less self-centred. He expressed his anger over the video, particularly because of his own experiences with his brother Pallava, who has Down’s syndrome. Son of director Hansal, Jai Mehta, wrote about how celebrities often overlook their fans, sharing his personal frustration with the incident.

Jai Mehta’s comment on Nagarjuna’s airport video

Jai further explained his deep personal connection to the issue, saying, “Now to why this particular video really pissed me off. My younger brother, Pallava, is mentally challenged. He has Down’s syndrome. It’s not something he contracted through a dirty syringe; he was born like this. It’s genetic. Trivia: He is a die-hard Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan fan. Practically knows all their movies and songs. And this is a big deal for us because he can barely pronounce our names as well as he does their names, movies, or songs!”

This just came to my notice … this shouldn’t have happened!!
I apologise to the gentleman 🙏and will take necessary precautions that it will not happen in the future !! https://t.co/d8bsIgxfI8

— Nagarjuna Akkineni (@iamnagarjuna) June 23, 2024

Jai continued, “Now to the reason this particular incident really hit the one nerve I have left. I’m so used to seeing my brother get weird looks from people. Even educated, aware, so-called woke people. But that’s okay. I’m used to it. But what would really break my heart is if I ever took my younger brother to an industry film screening with me, and by chance, at this event, his two idols were present. I wouldn’t want my brother’s innocence and lack of understanding to get him pushed or flung by anybody that way. No matter who they are. And the only reason he has never come for any of our screenings is that if somebody were to make a snarky comment on him, or were to push him because he was supposedly ‘being weird’.”

Hansal Mehta reacts to the airport video of Nagarjuna

He concluded, “Somebody would’ve got hurt real bad! I’m sorry to be so extra and vocal. But it just triggered me because I can picture my brother doing the exact same thing to almost any person he might’ve seen on TV, including Nagarjuna Sir. I guess I’ll just need to teach the handicapped kid to keep his head down and his mouth shut instead of teaching an educated person with a sound state of mind to be a little more aware and gentle.”

True story. So my son Pallava is a fan of this massive star. I’d requested through his brother, his close friends at various times that meeting the star would mean the world to him. And it would be my gift to my boy. When his eyes were operated the first person he recognised in… https://t.co/7WQYqn1pg3

— Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) June 24, 2024

Responding to Jai’s post, his father, director Hansal Mehta, shared his own story. “True story. So my son Pallava is a fan of this massive star. I’d requested through his brother, his close friends at various times that meeting the star would mean the world to him. And it would be my gift to my boy. When his eyes were operated the first person he recognised in the newspaper was that star. But no. There was no response from the star or his friends. I gave up. Now over the years, Pallu’s cognitive abilities have declined. And this will have no meaning even if it has to happen.”

Nagarjuna’s apology

After the video went viral, Nagarjuna apologised, writing on X, “This just came to my notice… this shouldn’t have happened!! I apologise to the gentleman and will take necessary precautions that it will not happen in the future!!”

Nagarjuna, a popular figure in South India, especially in the Telugu states, is known for his work in Telugu films but has also appeared in Tamil and Hindi films.

Also Read: Nagarjuna to take a small break post ‘The Ghost; Here’s the reason why