Actor Shakthi Vasudevan, who made his debut as a lead actor in 2007 with Thottal Poo Malarum, was booked for drunk driving on Tuesday in Chennai. The actor rammed his Ford Ecosport into a vehicle parked on Elangoadigal Street in Chennai’s Choolaimedu area. In videos that have emerged, Shakthi is seen getting out of the car in an inebriated state after the accident.
In a video captured by those present at the scene, the actor can be seen slipping and falling down as soon as he steps out of the car. While those around him extend a hand to help him up, Shakthi is seen arguing with them and trying to get back into the driver’s seat of his car. Shakthi was accompanied by a friend, who was also drunk, per the video.
Shakthi, who is the son of popular film producer P Vasu, was then taken to Anna Nagar Traffic Police Station, where he was booked for drunk driving. He was soon granted bail. According to a report in Times of India, he was booked under section 279 (rash driving) of IPC and section 185 (drunk driving) of Motor Vehicles Act.
Shakthi recently shot to fame with his reality television stint on Vijay TV’s Bigg Boss. Actor Shakthi, who made his first film appearance as a child artiste in Sathyaraj’s Nadigan (1990), was last seen in director Gautham Krishna’s 7 Naatkal, which was released in 2017.
Other celebrity drunk driving cases
This, however, is not the first time a celebrity has been booked for drunk driving. In August last year, Tamil actor Vikram's son Dhruv was involved in an accident where he allegedly rammed into three autorickshaws in Teynampet.
According to police sources, Dhruv was booked under section 279 (Rash driving or riding on a public way) and 337 (Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC, but was also granted bail immediately.
Later in November, actor and dance choreographer Gayathri Raghuram, who became a household name soon after her appearance in the reality TV show Bigg Boss Tamil, was booked for drunk driving by Abhiramapuram Traffic Control Police. A case under Section 185 (Driving by a drunken person or by a person under the influence of drugs) of the Motor Vehicles Act was filed against her.
In October 2017, actor Jai was slapped with a fine of Rs 5,200 and a court suspended his driving license for six months over a drunk driving case. The actor was arrested after he drove under the influence of alcohol and crashed his Audi into a divider in Adyar.