Prominent Telugu actors Venkatesh Daggubati and his nephew Rana Daggubati have been booked by the Hyderabad Police for the alleged illegal demolition of the Deccan Kitchen Hotel in Film Nagar, Hyderabad.
According to the Hindustan Times, along with the actors, two other members of the Daggubati family have also been named in the case. The action was initiated following a directive from a local court, which ordered the police to register a case against the family.
For the unversed, the controversy stems from the demolition of the Deccan Kitchen Hotel in January 2024. The property was reportedly leased to an individual named Nanda Kumar, who approached the court alleging that the demolition was carried out despite an existing injunction from the City Civil Court and contrary to the orders of the Telangana High Court. Nanda Kumar claimed that the demolition caused him a financial loss of Rs 20 crore. Acting on Nanda Kumar’s complaint, the local court directed the police to investigate the matter.
Nanda Kumar is not new to legal controversies. He was previously implicated in the 2022 alleged poaching of MLAs from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (now Bharat Rashtra Samithi). Adding to the complexity of the situation, in November 2022, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) demolished parts of the Deccan Kitchen Hotel and adjacent structures constructed by Nanda Kumar, citing them as unauthorized constructions. This action led the Telangana High Court to demand an explanation from GHMC in July 2023 and order the civic body to maintain the status quo on the property.
Meanwhile, on the work front, Rana Daggubati was last seen in the Rajinikanth starrer ‘Vettaiyan’. ETimes review for the movie reads, “Rajinikanth, as usual, does the heavy lifting, but his superstardom makes all other characters feel like extended cameos. Despite this, Fahadh Fasil shines as Patrick aka Battery, a street-smart thief hired by Athiyan to help him with ‘tech things’. Fahadh as a Horlicks-eating chatterbox adds humour and life to several scenes. Amitabh has a towering presence, but the scenes where they (Amitabh and Rajini) come face-to-face are not too strong. The dialogues between them could have been better. Manju Warrier plays Rajinkanth’s wife who runs a YouTube channel. Her role is restricted to being Rajinkanth’s support system in the film, but she scores 10/10 in one mass scene towards the end. Rana Daggubati, a shrewd businessman with an aim of encashing education system, appears only towards the end. Anirudh’s background score keeps the movie afloat. Of the four songs – Manasilayo and Hunter Vantaar – stand out, the other two fade in the background. Emotional scenes required a little more depth.”
