TV actress Simran Budharup has spoken out about an alleged altercation in Mumbai after she said a man physically confronted her while she was outside to collect a pani puri parcel.
Budharup shared a video of the incident on Instagram and described her experience in detail, saying that the confrontation began after she briefly parked her car near a gate while collecting her order.
In her post, the actress urged women not to be intimidated when someone behaves aggressively towards them and encouraged them to speak up and protect their dignity.
What happened to Simran Budharup?
According to Budharup’s account, she had stopped her car near the gate while stepping out to collect her pani puri parcel.
She said a watchman objected to the parking and told her that she could not leave the vehicle there. Budharup explained that she was only stopping temporarily and would move the car if another vehicle needed to pass.
The actress alleged that the watchman then spoke to her disrespectfully. When she objected to his manner of speaking, she said another man approached her aggressively.
Budharup subsequently posted footage that she said showed part of the confrontation.
‘He started touching me’
In the caption accompanying the video, Budharup alleged that the man touched her and threw her phone away during the confrontation.
“He started touching me. He touched me, and then he threw my phone. And when I was yelling at him, telling him, ‘Do not touch me again,’ he threw my phone away again,” she wrote.
Budharup also said she contacted the police following the incident. According to her account, she was told that a complaint could not be filed because her phone had not been damaged.
“But honestly, that is not the point,” she wrote, arguing that the absence of damage to her phone did not address what she described as unacceptable physical intimidation.
“The point is that no man has the right to touch a woman because he is angry. No one has the right to intimidate you or make you feel helpless,” she added.
The allegations are based on Budharup’s account of the incident. The video shared by her does not, by itself, establish every detail of what happened before or after the recorded portion.
Simran Budharup urges women to speak up
The actress used the post to encourage women not to remain silent when confronted by aggressive behaviour.
She asked women not to be afraid of people who come charging at them and encouraged them to remain strong and speak up.
“You have every right to protect yourself and your dignity,” Budharup wrote.
The actress had also shared another video in which she appeared emotional while recounting what happened. She said the man threw her phone and moved towards her aggressively.
Her posts subsequently drew attention on social media, with several people expressing support and tagging Mumbai Police and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Actors including Akshay Kharodia and Niyati Fatnani were among those who reacted to the situation, according to the information shared with the post.
Simran Budharup’s earlier Lalbaugcha Raja controversy
This is not the first time Budharup has spoken publicly about an unpleasant experience in Mumbai.
In 2024, the actress and her mother were involved in a separate incident at Lalbaugcha Raja during Ganesh Chaturthi. Budharup had alleged that female bouncers handled them roughly and that her mother’s phone was taken during the confrontation.
She shared footage of that incident on social media at the time, drawing considerable attention.
The two incidents are separate, but Budharup’s latest post has once again put the actress in the spotlight as she speaks about personal safety and the importance of standing up against behaviour she considers intimidating.
Who is Simran Budharup?
Simran Budharup is an Indian television actress known for appearances in shows including Nazar, Kumkum Bhagya and Pandya Store.
She gained wider recognition through Pandya Store, the Star Plus drama that featured actors including Shiny Doshi, Kinshuk Mahajan, Akshay Kharodia, Kanwar Dhillon and Alice Kaushik.
Her recent social media post has shifted attention away from her television work and towards her account of the alleged Mumbai confrontation, with viewers debating personal safety, public behaviour and how such complaints should be handled.
