Actor Radhika Apte ‘s recent comments on working in Telugu films have not gone down well with several Telugu people on social media.
Radhika did not name any film but said that once she was part of a Telugu film where her character was married to her mama (maternal uncle) and she had to be carried by an older actor.
That was the last Telugu film she ever acted in. Radhika debuted in Telugu in 2010 with Ram Gopal Varma’s Rakta Charitra films, which were also released in Hindi. In 2012, she starred in Prakash Raj’s Dhoni, which was technically a Tamil film and was also released in Telugu. After the 2014 film Legend, she acted with Balakrishna again in 2015 for Satyadev’s Lion.
The remarks quickly sparked a debate on social media, with many claiming that Radhika was referring to Boyapati Srinu’s 2014 film Legend, starring Nandamuri Balakrishna. the scenes she describes reveal she’s referring to Boyapati Srinu’s 2014 film Legend While the actor did not name the film. Amid this discussion, Telugu film producer Sreenivas Kumar Naidu, known popularly as SKN, has defended the film industry and called for more respect from actors. He did not take any names in his post as he stressed on the need for constructive criticism. He added, “Every actor has the right to express an opinion. But there is a difference between constructive criticism and selectively looking down upon an industry that welcomed you. #Telugucinema and #SouthIndian cinema have their own cultural identity, traditions and storytelling values. What may seem unusual to someone from another region can be perfectly normal within our culture. Radhika was asked about the most challenging role of her career While promoting Akka with co-star Keerthy Suresh on Zoom. She replied, “There was a Telugu film I did where I had to marry my mama (maternal uncle). That was the most challenging role. Everything about it, I hated. she explained to the stunned host and audience, “It’s a very Tamil, Telugu thing where you marry your uncle While Keerthy first looked surprised and later broke out laughing. Radhika, however, interjected and added, “Yeah, but also, like, I had to romance a much older actor. It’s a very patriarchal situation and place. For me, that was the toughest thing. And then I die in the middle of it. He had to throw me (gestures over his shoulder) and then do action. I was like, when am I going to die? Her character in the film pursues her bava (mama’s son), rather than her uncle, which is also common in the Telugu and Tamil states.
Several users also wondered why Radhika said yes to the film when she knew what was in the script. He took to his X account and said, “Accepting roles, working in South Indian cinema, gaining recognition and opportunities here, and then years later criticising the same industry, its stories and cultural traditions is becoming an unfortunate pattern.
