Telugu superstar Allu Arjun hit back at a viral claim that put him at the centre of an unexpected storm.

It began with brand manager Kaveri Baruah speaking on the Sweekriti Talks podcast.

She claimed that before meeting the 43-year-old actor, she was handed a list of “42 dos and don’ts”. Among them, she alleged, were instructions not to look him in the eye and not to shake hands.

She said, “South stars comes with entourage. Before meeting him, we had a note which had 42 dos and don’ts. And they have manager ka manager ka manager. They are very strict, like ‘don’t look into sir’s eyes, don’t shake your hands’.”

When asked why such rules would exist, she replied, “Mere ko kya pata? (How will I know?) That’s the rule.” Pressed for more details, she added, “Aur nahi bataungi main. (I won’t say more).”

The clip quickly spread online, with some social media users questioning the actor. “Why someone can't look in your eyes bro?” one X user wrote. Another simply said, “The audacity.”

However, the Pushpa star took this allegation seriously and responded through his team, which has firmly denied the claims. 

In a statement released by his team, he called the comments “completely baseless and untrue” and said he has “always conducted himself with the utmost dignity and honour”. The note added: “Our legal team is initiating defamation proceedings against those responsible.”

Kaveri has since deleted her Instagram and LinkedIn accounts, though the podcast remains online.