“Pink” Fame Actress Opens Up About Her Controversial Comments On Her Debut Director:- The actress who shot to fame after acting opposite Bollywood’s Megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the super-hit movie Pink, subsequently followed by a stellar performance in the critically acclaimed Naam Shabana, Taapsee Pannu is in the news these days as she has landed herself bang in the middle of a murky controversy.

In an outspoken chat recently with the comedy group East India Company (EIC), the actress spoke out against the inherently sexist portrayal of women in the film industry, pertaining specifically to the cinema of the South, where female actors are shown in a sensual light and are mostly meant to add to the “eye-candy” quotient of a movie by default.

Telugu filmmaker K Raghavendra Rao was ridiculed by the actress. Rao is incidentally the man that was the sole reason behind her big break into the world of movies. The director  launched the actor in the Telugu movie Jhummandi Naadam in 2010. Taapsee made her comments over his specific interest in exploring the navels of his heroines to make for a sensuous experience for moviegoers. Taapsee had spoken about working with Rao in her first film. She had gone on to add that she was hit on her navel with a coconut as the filmmaker felt that it would come across as sensuous.

“If I knew about this in my research before I’d gone to the South I would’ve worked on my navel. I clearly didn’t. The first day, they started with a song itself. And they are shooting a song which is the obsession over midriff. The director who launched me is known to have the Midas touch in terms of launching actresses. He has launched Sridevi, Jayasudha at that point. So it was his 105th movie with me,” said Pannu.

She found herself at the receiving end of severe criticism when she made some strong comments about director K Raghavendra Rao and her stint in Southern cinema. Now, she has finally broken her silence on the matter. During an interaction with a leading news channel, the lovely lady said that she was merely stating facts and did not want to hurt or insult anyone.

“He is known for that. I have stated a fact, and if you are taking it in a derogatory manner, that is your problem. Trust me, him or me, both of us are really unperturbed by whatever I have said, because I have seen the video and he has seen it, too, along with his family, and we are all laughing at it,” she added.

“I don’t know what is so sensuous about hitting a girl on her midriff. But the director who has made over 100 films has launched Sridevi and Jayasudha. They were apparently hit by flowers and fruits on their midriff,” she had added.

On a related note, this is a busy time for Taapsee. She will soon be seen in ‘Anando Brahma’. The film is a horror-comedy and will hit screens on August 18. Besides this, she has ‘Judwaa 2’ in her kitty. She will be seen opposite Varun Dhawan in this eagerly-awaited action-comedy.

SUPRAJA