Kumkum Bhagya actress Simran Budharup recently had a distressing experience during her visit to Mumbai’s famous Lalbaug Cha Raja. While there for darshan, both Simran and her mother were mistreated and manhandled by the security personnel. The actress took to Instagram to share a clip of the incident, which quickly caught attention. In a conversation, Simran narrated the entire episode and discussed how she has been coping with the ordeal.
When asked about how she has been handling the incident, Simran reassured her fans, saying, “I am okay. My mother and I are unhurt. We are all safe.” She then provided details about how the mishap unfolded.
Simran explained that, like many celebrities, she had arranged to enter the temple through a designated contact to avoid getting mobbed by fans. “We went through someone so that we could get darshan easily, which is what celebrities often do to prevent being crowded by people. Even while waiting outside, around 40-50 people came for pictures,” she said, explaining that this is a common practice for public figures.
However, things quickly took a turn for the worse. Simran voiced her frustration about the mistreatment common devotees often face from the temple staff, calling it unfair. “There was no special line for us. We went through the crowd like everyone else,” she clarified, adding that her co-star Mohit Parmar was left behind in the crowd while their escort went to fetch him. At that point, it was Simran’s turn for darshan, but her mother was suddenly involved in an altercation.
Simran recalled, “As soon as I bowed down for darshan, I heard my mother say, ‘Aap kya kar rahe ho?’ (What are you doing?), and a man had taken her phone. When she tried to retrieve it, he pushed her.” Disturbed by the situation, Simran stepped in to question the security personnel, demanding, “How can you behave like this?”
The confrontation escalated when a female bouncer intervened, telling Simran that the man was a senior citizen and shouldn’t be spoken to in that manner. Simran, however, pointed out that age shouldn’t justify inappropriate behavior. Things worsened when the bouncer accused Simran of using abusive language, cutting her off before she could finish her sentence.
The situation reached a boiling point when the bouncer tightly grabbed Simran’s hand, and her phone was snatched away when she attempted to record the incident. Simran’s mother, acting on maternal instinct, intervened to protect her daughter. Simran reflected, “My mom is fit and was able to stand up for me. But what if she wasn’t there? The bouncer was so aggressive that she could have hit me.”
In a twist, the bouncers backed off when they realized Simran and her group were actors. “When they figured out who we were, one of them said, ‘Chod de, actor hai. Media mei aa jayega’ (Let go, they are actors. This will make it to the media). If I were just a regular person, they would have continued their mistreatment,” Simran added.
Simran also voiced her anger about the general mistreatment of common devotees, who visit Lalbaug Cha Raja with immense faith. “Everyone has an equal right to take darshan. Why are people being treated like this when they come with such devotion?” she questioned.
When asked if she reported the incident to the authorities, Simran said she didn’t because she was too furious and anxious at the time. It was only later, when a kind bystander handed her a video of the incident, that she realized she had some proof of what transpired.
Simran also criticized the commercialization of faith at popular temples, saying, “It’s not just Lalbaug. Any famous temple becomes a business now.” The actress shared that she has been a long-time devotee of Lalbaug Cha Raja and, even before her fame, had waited in line for 19 hours for darshan.
She concluded by expressing her belief that she was meant to experience this incident to bring attention to the issue. “I feel like God purposely brought me there that day so that this problem could be highlighted publicly.”
On the work front, Simran Budharup continues to shine in her role on Kumkum Bhagya.