Star of India's highest grossing film, affair with married man left her pregnant, 'demanded' Rs 75 lakh for abortion

Indian cinema in the 90s saw numerous scandals, reports of illicit affairs, and stars being caught in quagmire of gossip. Some were true, most was conjecture, and then some contained all sorts of falsehoods. But most gossip and scandals involving film stars at the time contained a mix of truth and lies. Such as this one rumour of a top actress’ affair with a married director that is said to have ended in a scandalous pregnancy.

The rumoured affair in Tamil cinema that shocked the industry

In the 90s, Ramya Krishnan was one of the top heroines of Tamil and Telugu cinema with hits like Sutradharulu, Major Chandrakanth, and Annamayya. She even appeared in Bollywood films like Parampara, Chaahat, and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. In 1999, Ramya starred in Rajinikanth’s Padayappa, which would go on to be the highest-grossing Tamil film till then. It was on the sets of this film that the actress reportedly entered into a relationship with director KS Ravikumar. The two went on to work in two more films over the next three years and the rumour mills were abuzz with news of their affair. The fact that Ravikumar was married and had a child made this ‘scandal’ even bigger.

Did Ramya Krishnan get pregnant?

Reports from News 18 suggested that Ramya Krishnan got pregnant with Ravikumar’s child in 2002 and is said to have demanded Rs 75 lakhs for an abortion. However, all this is pure conjecture as such a claim was never substantiated or proven. Needless to say that Ravikumar or Ramya never commented on the matter themselves. In 2003, Ramya married filmmaker Krishna Vamsi. Two years later, they welcomed their first child – a boy named Ritwik.

When Ramya Krishnan starred in India’s biggest film

Ramya Krishnan eventually moved to supporting roles in the late-2000s. Her biggest claim to fame was in 2015 when she starred as Queen Mother Sivagami in SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali: The Beginning, a pan-India hit. Its 2017 sequel Baahubali: The Conclusion grossed Rs 1788 crore and emerged as the highest-grossing Indian film ever. While Dangal did cross its global connection, in the domestic market, Baahubali 2 is still the highest-grossing Indian film. Ramya has since appeared in other blockbusters like Jailer.

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