Lavanya Tripathi recently opened up about a difficult phase in her career, recalling how turning down a Tamil film led to legal trouble and negative media coverage. Speaking at an Open House With Fans session organised by Mahi Originals, the actress said the incident took place nearly a decade ago and that she had never spoken about it publicly until now.
‘I just didn’t feel comfortable’
During the session, Lavanya was asked by a fan if she had ever experienced moments when she cried her heart out at home but carried on normally the next day.Responding candidly, the actress said such moments have occurred several times in her life.“As a single woman and no family background, sometimes there’s no one to help you. So, you’re like, okay, what can I do? There was a time, there was a movie in Tamil which I was supposed to do. And I felt something was not right with the director. Maybe I can be wrong but I just didn’t feel comfortable and nenu no cheppesanu (I said no),” Lavanya shared.She added that things took an unexpected turn after she declined the project.“After that, they kind of put a case on me and they were putting out wrong articles about me in the newspaper,” she said.
‘I told no one and asked for no help’
Lavanya revealed that she chose to remain silent about the ordeal at the time and didn’t seek support from anyone.“Nenu ipudu cheptunanu, gaani aa time ki nenu evariki cheppaledu. Nenu evariki help adagaledu (I am talking about it now, but back then I told this to no one or asked for anyone’s help),” she said.Recalling how the pressure affected her emotionally, she admitted there was a day when it all became overwhelming.“But because of that pressure, one day I just came home, and I was just crying. Normally, I don’t cry. After crying, I got up, made myself some tea and chilled. Crying is good, no problem, but I have faced such situations. All these times, they make you very strong,” Lavanya said, drawing applause from fans.
‘If you’re going through hell, keep going’
When asked how she coped with the situation, Lavanya said her decision had been simple — she refused the film because she didn’t feel comfortable.“All I did was say no because I wasn’t comfortable working with the person. They troubled me a lot afterwards, too. If you’re going through hell, keep going,” she said. Lavanya made her acting debut with the 2012 Telugu film Andala Rakshasi directed by Hanu Raghavapudi. Her Tamil debut came with Bramman, which also starred M. Sasikumar.The actress married Varun Tej, her co-star from the 2017 film Mister, in 2023. The couple welcomed their son Vaayuv in November 2025.