Nagarjuna and Rakul Preet’s Telugu film Manmadhudu 2 has reportedly opened to good crowds in Andhra Pradesh. The story of the film revolves around a middle-aged man (Nagarjuna) who does not want to marry and so convinces a young woman (Rakul Preet) to act as his lover just to keep his family off his back. However, the talking point of Manmadhudu 2 has become a kiss between Rakul Preet and actor Jhansi, who plays Nagarjuna’s sister in the film.
The CBFC had given Manmadhudu 2 a UA certificate after blurring the kissing scene between the two female actors. See the CBFC’s list of cuts and mutes for Manmadhudu 2 below:
However, a section of the audience is now trolling singer Chinmayi Sriprada for the kiss. Here’s the logic - Chinmayi is the wife of Manmadhudu 2 director Rahul Ravindran and is a leading voice for the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment in the film industry down south. A few tweets allege that Rakul Preet’s character kisses Jhansi without her consent in the scene and claim it shows double standards if Chinmayi is not offended by the scene.
Another Twitter user has compared the kiss in Manmadhudu 2 with the controversial kiss in Arjun Reddy and Kabir Singh - calling the kiss between Rakul Preet and Jhansi as ‘toxic feminity’.
Some also came forward to defend the kissing scene in Manmadhudu 2.
The film’s director Rahul Ravindran meanwhile has tweeted his thanks to the people who have seen the film and loved it or not liked it, “but clearly you are not ignoring us!” is what he had to say.
Rakul Preet is also all smiles having received glowing praises from the media and the industry for her role as Avantika in the film. She even replied to a congratulatory tweet from none other than Nagarjuna’s wife Amala.
Looks like this kiss between Rakul Preet and Jhansi in Manmadhudu 2 will be remembered more than the film or its star Nagarjuna.
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