Mind your language: Tollywood celebs making sexist remarks in public

Talk about putting your foot in your mouth! Tollywood actor Nani recently joined the list of offenders from the film industry, to make sexist and misogynist statements in public.

At the trailer launch of Raashi Khanna’s upcoming film, Hyper, Nani said, “Raashi, you look beautiful and I can’t say more as it will not sound good. I used the word ‘beautiful’ because it is neat and classy, but everyone here knows just how beautiful you are.” While everyone present laughed it off, this is not the first time actors have shot their mouths off.

MLA and senior actor Balakrishna once said at an audio function, “If I simply run behind the actresses, my fans will be disappointed. They like it when I either kiss the girl or make her pregnant.” Speaking of his co-stars, he has said, “I act naughty with the actresses... I pinch them sometimes.”

Etiquette expert Ruqsana believes that this has to do with upbringing and that even if you share a great equation with someone in private, it is not okay to bring that relationship to a public forum.

“In actor Nani’s case, it is not good etiquette to speak how he would in private, while at a public forum. It is very important that we pay attention to where we are and what we’re speaking,” says Ruqsana.

Actor Mohan Babu had lashed out against a director and actor who asked the lead actress of a film for a hug at a promotional event. Said the veteran actor, “This is very cheap. How can a director ask an actress for a hug at a public gathering, also when the event is being shown live? When you are speaking, use your common sense. If the actress was from our times, she would have slapped them.”

A few months back, when Salman Khan spoke about how “he felt like he was raped” after the shoot of a fight sequence for his film Sultan, he faced a lot of backlash.

“People need to focus more on the words they are saying. I find that most men lack compassion and empathy and that is why they just shoot off such comments. If people put themselves in the place of others and think twice before they say insensitive things, we will be saved a lot of anguish,” explains Chetna Mehrotra, image consultant.

While celebs are often in the limelight for their language skills or the lack of it, day to day instances of sexism is not new. “I have heard even children use the word ‘rape’ very casually. People need to be taught not to use such words because they denote a much more serious issue. Educate people about the language they use and how they need to pay attention to words,” says Ruqsana.