Speaking at the NDTV Profit Ignite 2026 summit, the Stree 2 and The Vvaan star was asked about Kapoor’s past comments regarding her complexion—which had sparked sharp criticism online for being sexist and objectifying. Tamannaah responded with a composed dismissal, explaining how she navigates industry commentary without allowing it to derail her career.
Tamannaah’s Rebuttal: Filtering the Noise to Move Forward
Rather than engaging in personal barbs, Tamannaah framed her response through the lens of longevity, professional focus, and a woman's reality in the public eye:
“I think that as a creative person, our most important task is to listen. And when we listen, what we keep and what we filter is very important to understand. And because you are also a woman, you can understand that if we start giving importance to such things, then perhaps we will not be able to move forward in life.”
She went on to dismiss the impact of such public remarks on her day-to-day creative choices:
“So I don’t even see these things. I focus on my work. I focus on what I want to make. I focus on my acting career. Genuinely, according to me, I want to do my work like a service. And I do that. And maybe that’s why it reaches people, because somewhere it comes from the right place.”
Background: The Remark That Sparked Outrage
The controversy dates back to an appearance by Annu Kapoor on a podcast interview with Shubhankar Mishra:
The On-Air Comment: While reacting to a clip of the chartbuster song "Aaj Ki Raat" from Stree 2, the host expressed admiration for Tamannaah’s performance. Kapoor responded with the comment: “Mashallah, kya dudhiya badan hai” (What a milky-white body).
The Backlash: Kapoor added that through her appearance and songs, she puts the nation's children to sleep, remarking that it would be a blessing for the country if its children slept well.
Public Reaction: The statements were widely condemned by entertainment journalists and social media users as patronizing and reductive, sparking renewed conversation on how senior male industry veterans speak about female contemporaries.
The Shift Beyond Screen Glamour
When asked whether her recent script choices—including high-concept thrillers and grounded character work—were deliberate attempts to shed the "glamour" tag, Bhatia reiterated that she does not calibrate her career to fit other people's labels. Coming off the theatrical run of The Vvaan: Force of the Forrest (alongside Sidharth Malhotra) and multiple pan-Indian announcements, she noted that prioritizing performance depth over surface perception is what sustains an actor across decades.
Industry Take:
Tamannaah’s measured handling of the question follows a growing trend among leading Indian actresses who refuse to give second-hand publicity to sensationalized remarks made on digital talk shows. By defining the comment as background noise that must be filtered out rather than a debate worthy of outrage, she effectively shut down the controversy on her own terms.
