Radhika Apte speaks up on the furore over her leaked sex scene

Radhika Apte has been in the news more for the leak of her nude scene in 'Parched' than for her performance. When mid-day caught up with her, here's what she had to say...

Radhika Apte and Adil Hussain in a still from the leaked sex scene in 'Parched'

Radhika Apte has been in the news more for the leak of her nude scene in Parched than for her performance. One would assume she is seething with rage at an irrelevant slice of the film taking the focus away from the issues at its core. But when hitlist caught up with her, she was surprisingly nonchalant. “I didn’t react when it happened. You can actually find any nude scene of any film on YouTube. I did the film, didn’t I? I want everybody to watch the movie. I was never under the impression that I should do the film but it shouldn’t be shown openly. That would be prudish, right?”

With statements like ‘nude scenes can be liberating’, she has earned the reputation of bold. But she says that she isn’t trying to be groundbreaking. “If I were one bit worried, I would be diplomatic, measured with my words. What others look upon as bold is just who I really am. I can’t fake it and I don’t want to have double standards,” she adds.

Also read: Shocking! Radhika Apte confesses about her casting couch experience

Supportive husband
For a married woman, it could be difficult but for Radhika, her violinist husband Benedict Taylor is her support system. “When he watches my films, he doesn’t respond as a husband, he responds as a viewer. Every person has a point of view. Sometimes, he likes what I do, sometimes he doesn’t. As a husband, he doesn’t really have a say. I don’t really have to take anybody’s permission to decide what I work on. He (Benedict) is one of the most liberal men I have met. He encourages me to break boundaries. This kind of support from the whole family helps. You don’t have another battle to fight at home at least. But, support is irrelevant, in the end. Not everyone has family backing. It is good to have it but if you don’t, you can still make it all by yourself.”

Also read: Shocking! Radhika Apte's film with sex scene being sold as porn

Mainstream ambition
She’s known for parallel cinema, but has no qualms about dancing and singing onscreen.

She says, “I did Lai Bhaari which was a masala flick. I love dancing and I like good, peppy music. But the film should offer something enticing. I don’t want to be reduced to a small role that has no scope for performance. Luckily, mainstream films are becoming content-rich. I never had a plan for a career but I can’t bring myself to do movies that I don’t enjoy watching.”

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