Actor Vishnu Manchu held a press meet to discuss his father Mohan Babu’s health and on-going family feud with brother Manchu Manoj on Wednesday. It all began on Sunday when news broke of brewing discord between Mohan Babu and his son, actor Manchu Manoj. After a disagreement, the two had called 100 complaining of assault, with Manoj even spotted getting a medical checkup done. Mohan’s elder son, actor Vishnu Manchu, who returned to India from Los Angeles, broke his silence at a press meet in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
On Tuesday evening, Manoj was denied entrance to his father’s property at Jalpally after Mohan filed a police complaint against him and his wife, Bhuma Mounika, alleging assault. Manoj took the press along in a bid to gain entry, with Mohan getting into a physical altercation with one of the journalists.
After breaking the news about his father’s hospitalisation on Wednesday, Vishnu spoke to the press and said, “The only mistake my father has made is to love us all a lot. No family is perfect, so I still hope there’s light at the end of the tunnel. My father did not intentionally hurt the reporter; he just reacted to his space being invaded, which happened in the heat of the moment. I’m in touch with the reporter’s family because what happened was unfortunate. But I have no right to correct my father.”
Vishnu then confirmed to the press that he had also been summoned by the Rachakonda police, apart from his father. “I wasn’t even in the country, but out of respect for them, I’ll meet them,” he said. When asked about Mohan’s claim in an audio note that Manoj drinks a lot and is enabled to do so by his wife, the actor refused to answer the question. He also said, “I refuse to talk about my family issues; why should I tell you?”
When asked if the family is unhappy about Manoj marrying Mounika, despite what Mohan stated in the audio note, he replied, “He (Manoj) got married, he has a child now, and I hope he lives a hundred years with health and wealth. It’s definitely not the marriage (that’s an issue). My father has worked hard for every rupee he owns today; all he wants is for my brother not to stay at his home.”
Vishnu also made it clear that his involvement in the feud, if any, is only on his father’s behest.
Manoj spoke to the press after visiting the Rachakonda police station on Wednesday evening. He told PTI, “The police have promised to protect us. It’s unfortunate (that my father attacked the reporter), an attack of any kind isn’t good. It was my mistake to take the press inside our home, but I only did it because I felt helpless.”
He also stated that despite what his father Mohan and brother Vishnu say, his mother has not been hospitalised. “She is at home with my wife and children; it’s a lie that she has been hospitalised. I am ready to sit down and sort out all issues that have nothing to do with my asking for property. My issue has always been how the (Mohan Babu) University is being run. The police have already brought in one person to question where the CCTV footage (of the attack on him) has disappeared to,” said Manoj.
Manoj spoke to the press on Wednesday morning, apologising to the press for the altercation. He said, “I want to apologise to the media on behalf of me and my father. Please think of me as your own and forgive me; I am sorry. I did not like that you were there to support me when this happened to you. I do not like them dragging my wife’s name into this; we never asked them for money or property. I only returned home because my wife was pregnant, my brother (Vishnu) had moved to Dubai, and my parents were living alone. Was it my fault to marry the woman I loved?”
