Upasana Konidela Trolled For Egg-Freezing Advice At IIT Event: 'When You Have Crores In Bank'
Upasana Konidela’s remarks urging young women to freeze their eggs and marry on their own terms have sparked backlash, with doctors calling her advice impractical and netizens labelling it ‘tone deaf.’
Actor Ram Charan’s wife and Apollo Hospitals’ CSR Vice Chairperson, Upasana Konidela, has triggered a heated debate online after her recent interaction with students at IIT Hyderabad. While speaking about women’s health, personal agency and financial stability, her remarks on egg freezing and marriage have been called “tone deaf” by several doctors and social media users.
What Upasana Konidela said at IIT Hyderabad
In a clip shared from the event, Upasana is heard saying, “The biggest insurance for women is to save your eggs. Because then you can choose when to get married, when you want to have kids on your own terms, when you are financially independent. Today, I stand on my own two feet, I earn a living for myself.”
Encouraging students to build wealth in every aspect of life—health, finances and relationships—she captioned the video, “When I asked, ‘How many of you want to get married?' — more men raised their hands, than the women! The women seemed far more career-focused!!!! This is the new - Progressive India."
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However, her viewpoint has sparked criticism for oversimplifying a complex and expensive medical decision.
Doctors counter Upasana's claims
Medical professionals were quick to challenge her statements.
UK-based doctor Sunita Sayammagaru commented, “Egg freezing is not an insurance for women. Even if the woman freezes her eggs, there is no guarantee that this would translate into a successful embryo transfer and successful pregnancy.”
OBGYN Dr Rajesh Parikh, who stated he has been practising for 30 years, wrote, “It’s very easy to give advice on egg freezing when you have crores in the bank. IVF costs lakhs per cycle. Egg freezing costs lakhs upfront plus annual storage charges. Most young women listening to you can’t afford even one attempt.”
He added that he has witnessed the emotional toll of failed cycles: “I deliver these babies. I also see the couples crying through failed cycles - the injections, the disappointments, the mounting bills, the PTSD that lingers, mostly for ever. Biology doesn’t care about your career timeline.”
Critics highlight privilege and conflict of interest
Many online users pointed to Upasana’s influential background as the granddaughter of Apollo Hospitals founder Prathap C. Reddy.
“This is so tone deaf. She can afford to treat marriage as optional bc Upasana is indeed the granddaughter of Pratap C Reddy… So when someone from that level of inherited privilege lectures young women to basically ‘forget marriage’ it does come as a little hypocritical,” wrote one user.
Another noted, “Upasana konidela of Apollo hospitals got married at the age of 23. Let the world know.”
A user also hinted at a possible conflict of interest: “Egg freezing isn’t bad advice. But it comes from someone who has a stake in the Apollo chain, which also is the biggest fertility service provider in India. So that advice also comes with a conflict of interest.”
Ram Charan and Upasana were friends before they began dating, later getting engaged in 2011 and married the following year. The couple welcomed their first child, Klin Kaara, in 2023. Upasana is currently expecting their second baby.
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