Kochi: In wake of the controversy surrounding his unruly behaviour with media personnel, actor Sreenath Bhasi on Sunday apologized to those he had hurt with his words and pleaded with everyone to just let him be.
"I was under a lot of stress. But let me not justify the use of swear words. It was not right. It is my mistake and I apologize for the same," Bhasi said in a video interview to a news channel.
He said the outcry from the public since Friday, when news of the incident made headlines, has left him very disheartened. "The comments are very hurtful," a very sober Sreenath is seen saying in the latest interview.
However, towards the latter half of that video, Bhasi backtracked and claimed to be the "real victim".
"They abused me and became the victim. That is not right. I'm the real victim here," Bhasi said. "They have ruined my name, my cinema, my happiness, the love that people had for me. I think suicide is easier. They will be happy," Bhasi added.
This is in line with Bhasi's statements on Friday refuting the allegations that he had abused a female anchor during an interview.
"I have not abused anyone. I just responded in a way that every person would when insulted. I have not done anything wrong," Bhasi told reporters who waylaid him after the screening of his latest movie, Chattambi, which hit theatres on Friday.
Bhasi was giving an interview to a popular YouTube channel to promote the movie when the incident happened.
The police registered a case on the basis of an email complaint from the Youtube channel received at Maradu station.
In a video clip of the interview that was widely circulated on social media, Bhasi is seen visibly annoyed at some of the questions thrown at him by the anchor.
One of the anchor's questions asked Bhasi to rate his co-actors on the basis of their rowdiness. Though Bhasi attempts to deflect these questions at first, when it seemed that the interview was not progressing well, he is heard asking if he can leave.
It is after this that Bhasi tells it plainly that the anchor refrains from asking him any more "silly" questions. The actor can also be heard telling the crew to stop filming.
The YouTube channel alleges that Bhasi verbally abused the crew after the camera was turned off.
In a video posted on the channel, the crew allege that Bhasi used swear words that were deeply insulting to women. Bhasi was interviewed by two female anchors.
They further allege that despite the intervention of the movie's promotion team shortly after the incident, Bhasi showed no remorse for his behaviour but instead threw more abuses at the lead producer of the channel.
The YouTube channel has now demanded that Bhasi apologizes for his behaviour, especially to the two female anchors. "Respect women," says a title card at the very end of the channel's video.
Apparently, Bhasi had misbehaved in another interview as well. In a radio talk show, Bhasi needlessly throws verbal abuses at the host for asking what he deemed were "inferior" questions.
Despite the radio host's best attempts to carry on with the show despite enduring very foul language, he is met with more harsh criticism from the actor.
A video of this interview is also circulating on the internet in wake of the latest development.
Sreenath Bhasi is playing the lead role for the first time in Chattambi. For this very reason, the film was dubbed to be a game-changer for the actor. It remains to be seen how this row affects that.