More than a week after his brother's death, Tollywood actor Ravi Teja addressed questions on Wednesday that were raised by the media.
Teja's brother, Bharath, was driving at a high speed on Hyderabad's Outer Ring Road (ORR) in Shamshabad Mandal, when his car rammed into the back of a stationary lorry, leading to his death.
“You should understand my anguish. Some media reports and posts on social media have attributed different reasons for my staying away from my brother's last rites. While I was shattered at his death, I was grieved at what people posted without even understanding our emotions," Ravi Teja was quoted as saying.
He also told the media that his parents collapsed on hearing the news, and they were too old to handle seeing Bharat's disfigured face.
Teja visited Bharath's house, and showered flower petals on his photo, as a mark of paying his respect to the deceased.
Ravi Teja had skipped his brother's funeral, and resumed shooting for his upcoming film, Raja The Great, a day after the latter's death.
However, he explained the move saying that it was hard for him, but it was harder for those who had made arrangements for the shooting, and he could not cancel on them.
"No one knows the relationship between me and my brother. However, some people are posting whatever they want on social media. This is unfair," he added.
Ravi Teja also said that he sent his younger brother Raghu and another relative, to perform the final rites, and not a 'junior artist', as a section of the media claimed.
The actor then walked away even as the media was asking him questions.
Last week, the Police suspected that Bharath Raju was speeding before the accident, as the speedometer needle of the actor’s Skoda vehicle reportedly froze at 150 kmph.
According to reports, Bharath was also driving on the extreme left in the ORR, which is only meant for vehicles that have broken down, or have to stop, due to an emergency.
CCTV footage also showed Bharath entering Novotel hotel in Shamshabad at around 3pm, on the night before he died.