‘Gloriously happy’: Vijay Deverakonda, Rashmika respond to Koffee with Karan controversy

Actors Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda put out a statement on Monday, October 26, regarding the widespread criticism of their marital dynamic. The couple has been facing backlash after Rashmika revealed on Karan Johar’s talk show how Vijay made her ask him for marriage a hundred times before he said yes. 

“I’d do it a thousand times. A hundred is nothing,” Rashmika wrote in her statement on social media. She added, “Feminism was never about putting someone else down or establishing superiority, whether you're a man or a woman.”

Rashmika and Vijay recently appeared on Koffee with Karan, and during the course of the conversation, the couple revealed that it was Rashmika who first proposed marriage and that Vijay had been unsure. He had put forth a condition that she should ask him to marry her a hundred times, they said. 

According to Rashmika, she spent a year asking  Vijay to marry her. This revelation led to widespread social media discussion over the couple’s dynamic. Many slammed Vijay, calling him a “red flag” and Rashmika a “doormat.”

In her statement responding to the backlash, Rashmika wrote, “First, it was never about the number of times or an entire year. That's where some of you got stuck. Yes, that conversation happened. But neither of us was looking for a grand proposal.”

She added, “The conversation was about him wanting both of us to take the time and space to understand each other. To be sure that despite all the highs and lows, the joys and stresses of life, this was what we wanted and the right time for it. And we did. We chose each other.”

Saying that she knew exactly what she wanted, Rashmika added, “Find a man who loves you so beautifully that even after you're married, you'd still want to tell him, ‘Let's get married.’ I would do it a thousand times. A hundred is nothing. It's really that simple.”

Addressing social media posts expressing concern and criticism, Rashmika said Vijay had been there for her when she was having a hard time a few years back. She also said that she was the happiest she has ever been. 

Calling the social media reactions “misleading” and “absolute lies”, she said it is “creepy” that people would believe those narratives over what she said about her own life. 

Shortly after Rashmika’s statement was posted, Vijay also put out an Instagram post, in which he clarified that the couple is “gloriously happy”. 

“My best friend, my wife, my woman. One of the most beautiful parts of my life that I got absolutely right. For all those concerned, We are both gloriously happy. I am blessed,” he wrote.

Addressing the backlash over the Koffee With Karan episode, Vijay added that he sends big love to all those who celebrate love and the simplicity of living happily. “Now, with absolutely no intended kindness or respect, everyone else can go fuck themselves,” he concluded.

Vijay and Rashmika have appeared together in the Telugu films Geetha Govindam and Dear Comrade. They got married in February this year in Udaipur.