Mahesh Achanta, the well known and talented actor, recently went viral after a video surfaced showing him having a heated argument with his wife in what appeared to be a television studio.
Many viewers believed the incident was real, and the clip spread rapidly across social media.
Soon, conspiracy theories and misleading stories began circulating, with some people posting offensive comments about both Mahesh Achanta and his wife, weaving nasty stories.
Responding to the controversy, the actor released a video requesting people not to jump to conclusions and promised to reveal the truth. But by then, the damage had already been done, with his family becoming the target of unnecessary online abuse.
The truth is that the viral clip was not real. It was merely a promotional video for the web film D for Divorce on Chai Shorts. In hindsight, there were enough clues.
Why would a husband and wife take a personal dispute to a TV studio? The woman's face was also deliberately blurred in the first place, rising doubt that she wouldn't have been his wife.
The bigger issue is the publicity strategy itself. Whoever came up with this idea badly miscalculated its impact.
Was it really worth putting an actor's family reputation and peace of mind at risk just to create buzz for a web film?
Even Mahesh Achanta may have had second thoughts after seeing the backlash.
Some promotional ideas may attract attention, but when they invite personal attacks on innocent family members, they stop being clever and become completely irresponsible.
