Taapsee Pannu apologises for her comment on southern cinema's midriff craze

Taapsee Pannu. Pic/AFP

Actress Taapsee Pannu, who has apologised for her comment on southern cinema's midriff craze, says the obsession for a female body exists everywhere.

The actress, who made a strong statement about how a woman's "no means no" with the hard-hitting drama "Pink", was trolled after she featured in a comic video wherein she spoke about how in her debut Telugu movie "Jhummandi Naadam" (2010) director K. Raghavendra Rao had a coconut thrown at her navel to add "sensuality".

It's a sequence oft repeated in the filmmaker's films -- but there are usually flowers or fruits instead of a coconut.

"There's an obsession for a female's body everywhere. Do I need to name some songs in Bollywood that have some weird obsessions? It's not just there (in the southern film industry)," Taapsee told IANS on the sidelines of the 18th edition of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend and Awards held here last week.

"I was just sharing my experience because I have seen that in the south, and that glamour bit has not happened with me in Bollywood yet," added the actress, who has featured in films like "Baby" and "Naam Shabana", apart from "Pink" -- all of which saw her portray intense characters.

Taapsee says that her comment in the video was "misconstrued" by the media which led to it being blown out of proportion. She apologised nevertheless because she wanted "peace".

She says it has become hard for celebrities to express their views "as some part of the media has become trolls".

"People thought I was trying to humiliate the director who launched me, which obviously was not the case. I am not that stupid. I always give credit to him (for my career) and have always said that he is a man with the Midas Touch.

"He is known to launch very big stars. Why will I go and be hurtful or disrespectful towards him? Some people just don't know how to interpret what one says and they manage to see the glass half empty."

It's because she "can't stand so much hatred" that she then decided to issue an apology.

"It's like you step on someone accidentally, and you apologise for it even when it wasn't intentional."

Yet, Taapsee enjoys the social media platform as it gives her accessibility to her fans.

"I have seen the good side (of social media) too. Otherwise I would have gone off it. Just because of one thing, I don't want to give up on all the good that it has... The accessibility it gives."

"I could even share my apology so widely due to social media. I want to look at the glass half full. I am happy being there... It is part and parcel of the game," Taapsee said.

For now, her face lights up as soon as one mentions David Dhawan's upcoming potboiler "Judwaa 2" in which she features with Varun Dhawan.

Taapsee says she finally felt like a "quintessential Bollywood heroine" with the "big film, big sets, big director, big producer and big actors".