Astrologer Venu Swamy has stoked a controversy by predicting that two prominent male actors (one of whom is doing the highest number of pan-Indian movies) and a star heroine (who has been divorced in the past) will die by suicide. A prominent Telugu TV channel has exposed a call recording of Venu Swamy making the wildest prediction, adding that one of the two actors has been going through a severe health crisis lately.
The predictions are exceptional and shocking. There is a view that the said Astrologer makes such sensational predictions ostensibly based on the horoscopes of various celebrities just to manipulate them into approaching him for 'pariharalu'. In the past, Venu Swamy had predicted negative events in the lives of the three celebrities. However, he never went to the extent of talking about suicide in their case.
Do the celebrities have the option of filing police complaints against Venu Swamy if they are distressed by his predictions? If a prophecy is stated as a fact (not as an opinion) and harms the reputation of the individual by implying that they are mentally unstable, it could lead to a defamation case.
