Nayanthara-Vignesh Shivan get legal notice for violating Tirupati temple rules, couple apologises

Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan were served legal notice for wearing footwear inside the Tirupati temple and doing photoshoot. The couple has apologised now.

After tying the knot in a fairytale ceremony, Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan visited the Tirupati Lord Venkateswara temple in Andhra Pradesh. They were there to seek blessings from the deity for their newly married life. However, their visit got them caught in a controvers. The couple was served with a legal notice for walking in footwear inside the temple and doing photoshoots. However, Shivan has now issued a statement apologising for the same. The couple got married on June 9 at Sheraton Park in Mahabalipuram. Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan have been dating for nearly seven years.

In the photos and videos that went viral on the internet, Nayanthara was seen walking in the Tirupati temple with her footwear on. According to the Chief Vigilance Security Officer of Tirumala Tirupati Desvasthanam Board Narasimha Kishore, wearing sandals inside the temple's premises is strictly prohibited. He said, "She (Nayanatara) was seen roaming with footwear in Mada Streets. Our security immediately reacted. We have even noticed that they did a photo shoot inside the temple's premises, which is again prohibited. Private cameras are not allowed inside the Holy Shrine".

Informing that they will soon serve a legal notice to the actor, he added, "We are serving notices to Nayanatara. We have also spoken to her and she wanted to release a video to the press apologising to Lord Balaji, TTD, and pilgrims. However, we are going to serve notices to her."

Soon, Vignesh Shivan sent an apology letter to the Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam board. "After the wedding, we went straight to Tirupati temple without even going home and attended the wedding ceremony of Ezhumalayan. After that, a lot of people came out of the temple and surrounded us. So we left there and after a while, we came back in front of the Ezhumalayan temple. We quickly finished the photo shoot and decided to get out of there as the fans would surround us if they saw us. In the ensuing commotion, we failed to notice that we were walking with shoes in the area where it was forbidden to wear shoes. We apologise for the inconvenience. We have been to Tirupati five times in the last month with the desire to get married in Tirupati. Due to various reasons, it was not possible to hold our wedding at Tirupati temple," the letter read.

Situated in the hill town of Tirumala at Tirupati in the Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh, India, Sri Venkateswara Swami Vaari Temple is dedicated to Venkateswara (Lord Vishnu), who is believed to have appeared here to save mankind from Kali Yuga. The temple is also known by other names, like Tirumala Temple, Tirupati Temple and Tirupati Balaji Temple. Before their wedding, Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan used to visit Tirupati and several other temples across Tamil Nadu.