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Ranbir Kapoor's last release 'Animal' drew criticism for its portrayal of misogyny and violence. Despite the controversy, the box office collection of the movie broke several records and Animal became the biggest blockbuster for Ranbir. Not just Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Animal, even his directorial Kabir Singh, starring Shahid Kapoor portrayed violence and several pointed fingers for perpetuating harmful attitudes towards women and glorifying violence. Well, not just these two movies, several other movies have portrayed violence on women while objectifying and sexualising them. While antagonists earn hatred for their toxic attitudes and behaviours, protagonists are generally termed 'macho heroes'.
Siddharth Takes a Dig at 'Macho Heroes'
Recently, actor Siddharth took a dig at 'Macho Heroes' and revealed why he didn't become a 'bigger actor'. During a recent event in Hyderabad, the Rang De Basanti actor spoke about how he veered away from playing toxic men in his career and turned down roles that needed to 'slap women and pinch navel'.
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Siddharth was one of the guests at the recently held Hyderabad Literary Festival. While answering a question made by one of the audience, Siddharth revealed he would have been a much 'bigger movie star' if he had said yes to some projects.
Siddharth said, “I used to get scripts where I’m slapping women, doing item songs, pinching somebody’s navel, telling a woman what she should do, where she should go. And if those films had great scripts, they would’ve made great, successful films. I just rejected them. I might be a far bigger movie star today if I was differently wired. I instinctively did what I liked.”
'Siddharth was Happy to Cry On-screen While Others Were Trying to be Macho'
Further, he also said that it’s gratifying when people come up to him as someone who is ‘cute’ but ‘respectful to women’ too.
"Today, people tell me you were respectful to women, you were good to parents, you were good with kids, you looked cute. And their kids watch my films from 15 years ago. It’s such a gratifying feeling; it’s not something that can be measured in crores," he said.
Furthermore, he added, "Everyone around me was trying to be aggressive and macho. They’re all mard ko dard nahi hota (men don’t feel pain) kind of thing, and I was happy to cry on screen.”
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Apart from South movies, Siddharth has worked in certain Bollywood projects. He was last seen in Indian 2 and Miss You in 2024. He will be next seen in Indian 3 and Test.
