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Jyothika Visits Tirumala, Here’s How Her Husband Suriya’s Father Derided The Temple

The Commune
Jyothika Visits Tirumala, Here's How Her Husband Suriya's Father Derided The Temple

Actress Jyothika and husband Suriya were recently spotted performing special pujas at Kollur Mookambika and Tirumala temples, drawing attention for their temple visits following the box office failure of Kanguva. The visits have sparked discussions, given Jyothika’s earlier remarks discouraging donations to temples.

Following her visit to Kollur Mookambika temple with her husband Suriya, actress Jyothika is said to have performed special pujas with him in the aftermath of the Kanguva disaster.

Subsequently, on 27 November 2024, videos and photos of the actress who is also actress-turned-politician Nagma’s step-sister, was seen in Tirumala Tirupati temple.

It is noteworthy to remember that in her speech at the awards ceremony in 2020, Jyothika recounted that the Brihadeeshwara temple with all its grandeur reminded her of the palaces in Udaipur. As a part of her shooting, she had to visit a hospital that she found was poorly maintained. She used the awards ceremony as a platform to make a public request that people donate money to schools and hospitals instead of putting money in temple hundis. She went on to say that schools and hospitals are just as important, if not more so, and that they deserve more support from the public.

As Jyothika and Suriya’s pictures and videos in Tirumala went viral, an undated video of her father-in-law Sivakumar, Suriya’s father, known for knocking down cellphones of fans who would request him for a selfie, speaking about VIPs having darshan at Tirumala temple also went viral. It is noteworthy that Sivakumar’s second son Karthi has a huge fan following in the Telugu audience. 

In the video, he says, “The poor man goes up the hill through forests and snake pits. On special days, the devotees circumambulate the temple at least 8 times. For a poor man, a real bhakta taking this route, he can only get darshan only on the 4th day. Once he enters the temple, those people with a bamboo stick of this size keep shouting “jargandi jargandi” and will send the devotees out in an instant. But a millionaire, without his wife’s knowledge, takes a young lady with him, stays in the guest house, drinks all night, and goes to the temple at 4 AM in the morning without bathing – but he is accorded full honour (kumbham) there. I am saying this after seeing it happen, I am not lying.”

The entire family seems to be a masterclass in irony. On the one hand, we have Sivakumar delivering sermons on temple ethics and lamenting VIP favouritism, and on the other, we have Jyothika hopping temples with the same VIP privileges he criticized. Her past diatribe on redirecting temple donations to schools and hospitals now feels like an afterthought as she performs “damage control pujas” post-Kanguva‘s box office collapse.

Perhaps Sivakumar’s insights about temple visitors apply closer to home than he might have imagined—minus the snake pits. As for Jyothika, her temple run might not be the redemption arc she hoped for, but it certainly makes for prime meme material. Maybe the next time they preach morality or make public declarations, they should first look at their highlight reel. Hypocrisy, after all, has its divine way of catching up.

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