Two days after sharply criticising actor Trisha Krishnan in a video over her response to his controversial remarks, actor and filmmaker R Parthiban has now released a teaser for the second part of his explanation, prolonging the public spat.
Sharing the 46-second teaser on X, Parthiban said he was splitting his long video into two parts only because of its duration.
"I am sharing the single video recording in two parts due to the length, not to split anything else (anyone). I understand, as I share my self-explanation, there will be side effects taking centrestage indecently. But I am not going to speak about this hereafter. Only concluding this is good for us. Thank you," he wrote the post in Tamil.
In the teaser montage, Parthiban is heard making several remarks including "My heartfelt appreciation for Trisha even after this bitter episode" and praising actor-politician Vijay, saying "Vijay's growth is phenomenal". In other snippets he says, "When I think calmly, even Mr Vijay would have thought about it," and "Who is Mr Vijay for me?" The teaser ends with an ambiguous line - "alliance talks continue".
Trisha has not commented on the latest development. However, the controversy continues to trigger debate online, with many questioning why a woman actor's name is repeatedly being dragged into political criticism surrounding Vijay's rise.
The trouble began when Parthiban, responding to a rapid-fire segment at an awards function, reacted to a photograph of Trisha displayed on screen by saying "Kundhavai has to be made to sit at home", referring to the character she played in the film Ponniyin Selvan. Parthiban also played a key role in Ponniyin Selvan, the two-part period drama directed by Mani Ratnam.
The remark came days after Vijay and Trisha were seen together at a wedding reception in Chennai, amid a divorce plea filed by Vijay's wife Sankgeetha seeking dissolution of their marriage, permanent alimony and the right to live in her matrimonial home.
Parthiban later expressed regret, saying his response was an instant remark made as a rhyming wordplay after the anchor prompted with the name "Kundhavai". He also claimed he had asked the event organisers not to use that portion of the recording but that a privately recorded clip was leaked.
Trisha, however, hit back on social media, tacitly accusing him of orchestrating the episode. "A microphone doesn't make a comment intelligent or humorous. It just makes stupidity louder. Crude words without knowledge say more about the speaker than the person they're aimed at," she wrote on Instagram.
Despite his earlier apology, Parthiban soon released a longer video criticising Trisha and trolling her for the post. In it, he called her a "third-party woman" and described her tweet as "third rate", saying his response video was prompted by the impact her remarks had on him.
He also argued that she had singled him out despite "many dirty and vulgar criticisms" directed at her online, including by political figures. Trisha had earlier, through her lawyer, objected to remarks by Tamil Nadu BJP chief Nainar Nagendran, calling them distasteful and insisting she had no political connection.
Parthiban further suggested the episode had caused avoidable damage to Vijay at a time when he was navigating political challenges and soaring high.
In the earlier video, Parthiban also called Trisha a "third party" in the matter, saying Vijay was the "first person" and his wife Sangeetha the "second person" in the episode.
With the teaser for the second part now out, it remains to be seen whether Parthiban's promised "final explanation" will bring closure to the controversy or add another chapter to the increasingly public dispute.
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