Lakshmi Manchu recalls being inappropriately touched for 1st time at 15 despite growing up sheltered: ‘I wasn't special’

Lakshmi Manchu shared her experience of being abused for the first time on public transport when she was only in 10th grade. Here's what she said.

Actor Lakshmi Manchu recalled first facing abuse when she was just 15 and in tenth grade. In an interview with Hauterrfly, the actor spoke about how she grew up sheltered, being the daughter of actor Mohan Babu. But an experience on public transportation left her feeling violated and struggling to cope with the ‘ugly feeling’. Here’s what she said.

Lakshmi Manchu recalled how she felt when she faced abuse for the first time in 10th grade.

Lakshmi Manchu recalls being touched inappropriately at 15

Lakshmi said in the interview that she was in tenth grade and only 15 when she first experienced abuse. She mentioned how, being the daughter of Mohan Babu, she would usually go to school with a driver, bodyguard and her mother. However, the school once took them on public transport to pick up their hall tickets. She recalls feeling excited.

Unfortunately, Lakshmi says she was touched inappropriately by random people on the way. “The violation I faced…what is this ugly feeling? I was 15 years old then. I don’t know if they knew I was a little child. I moved away and didn’t get into a fight. I shared it with my girlfriends, and they said it happened to them too. I wasn’t picked as a special girl for this to happen. It happens to everyone,” said the actor.

Breaking down during the MeToo movement

Lakshmi also mentioned in the interview that, unfortunately, such instances are so common that if a girl who has ever been on public transport says she hasn’t faced it, “she’s lying.” The actor mentioned that she “fell down crying” during the MeToo movement because every single thing mentioned on a flier by the Women’s Commission had happened to her.

“Sometimes people will want to mess with you when you’re from a big family because we won’t come out and say it. A theft happens in my house, and I can’t go out and say it. Let the ₹15,000 go, that’s how I have been raised. Be careful with your things, but if it goes out, you don’t want to put your name out there unnecessarily,” she explained.

Lakshmi was last seen in the 2024 film Adiparvam and the JioHotstar show Yakshini. This year, she was a contestant on The Traitors India.