Venkatesh has long been regarded as one of the most non-controversial actors in Telugu cinema.
He has consistently stayed away from politics and avoided overt political associations.
While his elder brother Suresh Babu maintains cordial relations with several chief ministers, Venkatesh himself has largely kept a distance from political engagement.
Even when his elder daughter campaigned for her father-in-law; who contested and won the MP elections from Khammam on a Congress ticket; Venkatesh chose not to participate in the campaign.
Though his late father, Ramanaidu, served as a Telugu Desam Party MP and the family is traditionally seen as TDP-leaning, Venkatesh has remained personally apolitical.
Against this backdrop, his recent move has raised eyebrows.
The actor hosted a gathering at his Manikonda residence in Hyderabad in honour of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is currently marking 100 years of its existence, and Mohan Bhagwat has been meeting prominent individuals and organisations across the country as part of the centenary outreach.
While the RSS is not a political party, it is widely perceived to be ideologically aligned with the BJP. This naturally leads to questions: why did Venkatesh go out of his way to host the RSS chief?
Is it merely a courtesy meeting as part of the centenary celebrations, or does it signal something more?
