Veteran actor Annu Kapoor is once again in the news, nearly a year after his controversial remark on Tamannaah Bhatia sparked widespread backlash online.
In one of the earlier episodes from his career, he once recalled a misunderstanding with late actor-producer Shashi Kapoor during the shooting of the 1984 film Utsav, directed by Girish Karnad.
What’s Happening
- Sharing the incident, Kapoor said, “We were playing cards in a tourist lodge in Bharatpur. Anupam Kher, Shekhar Suman, the late Satish Kaushik were all sitting in my room. And the rest all big stars were inside the lodge. I gave an order for chai and paneer pakoda. The waiter asked for cash. So I said, okay, what do I argue with that waiter? I took it out and gave him the money,” he shared, adding, “Then I told a Bengali Dada from the production team that, ‘Dada, next time we will bring ticket also.’ That waiter came and told us to give him the cash. There was no problem in that. But better you could have said the same thing’.”
- The situation escalated when the matter reached Shashi Kapoor. “That Bengali Dada was from the production team. He went and told Shashi Kapoor. When Shashi Kapoor got to know, he told Govind Nihalani. When he confronted me. Did you say that? Did you misbehave? I said, sir, what you think is misbehaviour might be the right thing…”
- Kapoor added that the misunderstanding was eventually resolved. “I told him that I was just clarifying my point. When the shoot in Bangalore (Bengaluru) took place, he called me. I told him that I was going. He told me to come to his room. I reached his suite. He said, ‘this is a ticket, go on Sanjana’s (Shashi Kapoor’s daughter) ticket’. And he went inside and gave me Rs 7,000 in a packet. I couldn’t believe it. I touched his feet and got emotional. I made him understand my point and told him that you don’t know the waiter at the Bharatpur lodge but you knew me so if you would have told me I would have gone to the thelevaala and worked hard and never spent your money. After that, there was no problem.”
- Despite the disagreement, Kapoor expressed deep admiration for Shashi Kapoor, saying, “In these 42 years, the finest producers I’ve met, Shashi Kapoor is the first name among them. He will always be revered.”
Annu Kapoor’s ‘Milky Body’ Comment
This time, the actor has addressed the criticism in detail, clarifying the intent behind his comment and reflecting on how it was perceived.
Speaking on Siddharth Kannan’s YouTube channel, Annu Kapoor explained the context in which the remark was made.
He said, “Last year I had shows in America. I told our creative team that the contestants are good, so suggest a googly-type song. Then they played this song Aaj Ki Raat. I said the composition is very good. They said the song is very popular but contestants won’t be able to score in it, so it can be a googly song because the ‘mukhda’ doesn’t fully land. I asked them to show me the video. I watched it and said she is dancing very well. That’s all that happened.”
The actor maintained that his words were misunderstood, particularly due to language.
He said, “If you say it in English, it’s fine, but in Hindi it becomes a problem. Abuse in our own language hits harder, but if you say the same thing in English, no one has an issue. If I had said ‘milky body’, there would have been no problem. What age would she be-28, 30? My children are that age. Just because I said ‘dudhiya badan’, people started calling me an old man and trolling me.”
Kapoor further stated that comments on physical appearance, in his view, are expressions of appreciation rather than desire. Addressing the possibility of apologising to Tamannaah, he said, “If she asks me whether I said it, I will say yes, I did. If you felt bad, I will touch your feet. If a 71-year-old man touches her feet, what will she say? Nothing, because I am not doing it with any wrong intention.”
The controversy dates back to his appearance on Shubhankar Mishra’s YouTube channel, where he reacted to a clip of the song Aaj Ki Raat. When asked about Tamannaah, Kapoor said, “Mashallah kya dudhiya badan hai (Oh my god, what milky body she has).” The remark drew sharp criticism online, with many calling it inappropriate and urging the actor to be more respectful.
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