Lakshmi Manchu says men down south don't want ‘sisters or daughters’ to act: ‘My dad tried to…’

In a recent interview, Lakshmi Manchu mentioned how she struggled to find her place in the film industry despite being Mohan Babu’s daughter.

Actor Lakshmi Manchu was candid in a recent interview about moving to Mumbai and struggling in the Telugu film industry despite being Mohan Babu’s daughter. According to Free Press Journal, she called her family a ‘roadblock’ when she moved to north India. (Also Read: Manchu Manoj and Bhuma Mounika blessed with a baby girl; Lakshmi Manchu thinks she looks like her)

Lakshmi Manchu says she's a 'victim of patriarchy' and talks about her father Mohan Babu didn't want her to be an actor.

‘My family had qualms’

Talking to the publication, Lakshmi claimed that her family ‘did not let (her) move’ to Mumbai for ‘the longest time’ because they’re close-knit. She said, “They had their own qualms. I used to stay at my best friend Rakul Preet’s house (in Mumbai). She kept insisting that I move to Mumbai. I was chatting with Rana (Daggubati), and he told me I couldn’t stay in Hyderabad forever.” Lakshmi also noted that her daughter’s (Nirvana) young age was also one of the reasons she couldn't move.

‘Men down south don’t cast us’

Lakshmi noted that whatever her brothers (Vishnu, Manoj) got ‘easily’ she had to ‘fight for’. “I am a victim of patriarchy,” she said, adding, “Men down south aren’t okay with heroes’ sisters or daughters being actors. They step back from casting people like us. Prakash (Kovelamudi) introduced me to the movies (Anaganaga O Dheerudu), but my dad and his dad (Raghavendra Rao) tried to get this idea out of our heads.” Lakshmi is one of the few female actors in the industry who belong to a film family.

Lakshmi Manchu’s career

Lakshmi worked in the US for a while and starred in TV shows like Las Vegas, Boston Legal and Desperate Housewives, apart from films like The Ode and Dead Air. She returned to India and debuted in Tollywood in 2011, acting in movies like Gundello Godari and W/O Ram afterwards. She recently debuted in Malayalam cinema with the 2022 Mohanlal-starrer Monster. This year, she starred in the Disney+ Hotstar series, Yakshini.