Actress Rashami Desai criticised Urvashi Rautela after the latter claimed that a temple near the sacred Badrinath Dham in Uttarakhand was built in her honour. The comment, which triggered widespread backlash from local priests and residents, was labelled as "misleading" and "factually incorrect" by those closely associated with the temple's history.
Amid the rising outrage, Rashami took to her Instagram stories to call out Urvashi's claim. In a sharp post, she wrote, "It's sad that people don't even take action against such nonsense... Bharat main Hinduism is becoming joke. BTW, she politically correct when she kept repeating her answer."
Rashami added, "Representing India and talking senseless on purpose... it's sad please don't play game on the name of religion (sic)."
Urvashi Rautela's temple controversy explained
In a recent interview with Siddharth Kannan, Urvashi said, "There is a temple in my name in Uttarakhand. If one visits Badrinath, there is an 'Urvashi temple' right next to it."
She further added that devotees, including Delhi University students, visit the site, garland her photos, and refer to her as "Damdamamai."
Urvashi insisted her claim was genuine, stating, "I am being serious about it. It is true. There are news articles about the same too. You can read them."
However, the remark hasn't gone down well with the locals and religious authorities. Bhuwan Chandra Uniyal, former religious officer at Badrinath Dham, clarified that the Urvashi Temple is not linked to the actress but is an ancient temple dedicated to Goddess Urvashi, a celestial figure from Hindu mythology, and in some beliefs, a form of Goddess Sati.
According to media reports, he demanded strict action be taken against Urvashi for her statement.
Villagers from Bamni and Pandukeshwar echoed similar sentiments, expressing anger over what they described as an attempt to distort religious history.
As the controversy snowballs, Urvashi is yet to issue any clarification or apology regarding her comments.
Meanwhile, on the professional front, she is currently promoting her song Sorry Bol from the upcoming film Jaat, which stars Sunny Deol and Randeep Hooda.
