Dhanya Balakrishna has been in the news owing to her upcoming film Lal Salaam. However, recently she has been trending for all the wrong reasons. The actress is facing backlash for her old demeaning comments about Tamil people. Back in 2012, when IPL team Chennai Super Kings qualified for the playoffs, the Bengaluru-born actress took to her social media handle and dropped a message. She claimed that Chennai people beg for water and electricity from Bengaluru.

This created a huge backlash back then owing to which Dhanya announced that she was quitting Tamil cinema. However, she turned on her words and went on to be part of the films Raja Rani, Carbon and Yaar Ivan. Now, after a decade, her comments have resurfaced on the internet ahead of the release of Lal Salaam. On seeing this, the actress issued an apology to Rajinikanth and director Aishwarya Rajinikanth.

Dhanya Balakrishna clarifies old statement against Tamil people

She issued a lengthy statement clarifying her then statement and apologising to the Lal Salaam team for the inconvenience caused because of her. Her statement read, "I swear on my profession that puts food on my table that the statement that is circulating now was not made by me and it is not my opinion. I had clarified it 12 years ago when it happened, and I am saying it even today. It was a screenshot created by a troll. But I have nothing in my power to prove to you all that it was not me."

The actress added that she never clarified this before because she was protecting her family. However, now she has decided to voice that the alleged statement was not her words. "The reasion for my silence for 12 years was only because I was receiving a lot of threates and hate towards me and my family and protecting them was my priority. Though I did not make this statement, unfortunately, my name is involved in this. So, I apologize to Tamil people from the bottom of my heart. I regret this incident has happened and has hurt Tamil people.”

Dhanya Balakrishna aplogises to Lal Salaam team

She concluded by writing these words, "I also deeply apologise to Aishwarya Rajinikanth, Rajinikanthsir, and their fans for the inconvenience and hurt caused by this issue. I am powerless and helpless at this point and I only hope you have the heart to see the truth in this."

Lal Salaam, starring Vishnu Vishal in the lead role, is slated to hit the theatres on February 9.