Telugu actress Arti marries NRI; media person attacked (Lead)

Hyderabad, Nov 22 (IANS) Popular Telugu actress Arti Agarwal tied the knot with an Indian American banker at a hush-hush wedding here during which a photojournalist was allegedly attacked by her family members.

Arti, who was born in New Jersey, married Ujwal Kumar at an Arya Samaj temple in Secunderabad Wednesday evening. Kumar works with an American bank in New Jersey. Family members of the bride and groom were present at the simple ceremony but film industry people were conspicuously absent and the media was not invited.

Within hours of Arti's marriage, Gandhinagar police arrested her father Shashank, brother Akash and sister Aditi for allegedly pushing and beating up a photojournalist who was trying to cover the marriage.

Telugu television reporter R. Kumar had complained to police that Arti's family members abused and assaulted him. The trio were taken into custody and brought to Gandhinagar police station late Wednesday.

Arti's father denied before police that they attacked the photojournalist and said there was a stampede-like situation due to the presence of 200 media persons outside the venue. He said the journalist stood in their way as they were coming out after the marriage.

The three were then shown the video clippings. The actress' father later admitted that a mistake had been committed and said his daughter needed the blessings of the media. He also apologised to the media.

They were released after the photojournalist withdrew his complaint saying he did not want them to spend the night in police custody when the family was celebrating the marriage.

Arti began her film career with a Hindi film in 2001 and has worked with all top Telugu actors. She has a number of hit films to her credit.

Her debut Telugu film 'Nuvvu Naaku Nachav' created a sensation, especially in the box office. She took a break after 'Nenunnanu' and went back to New Jersey.

Arti had attempted suicide in 2005 by drinking bathroom cleaning liquid following rumours of a linkup with fellow actor Tarun.