The Girlfriend, a love drama directed by Rahul Ravindran and starring Rashmika Mandanna and Dheekshith Shetty, debuted in theaters on November 7. Critics gave the movie mixed reviews when it first came out, but audiences generally responded favorably. A video of a young girl imitating Rashmika’s appearance from the movie and then taking off her dupatta after the screening (as Rashmika does in the climax) recently appeared online, sparking a lot of conjecture over whether it was a publicity ploy. The director of the movie has now replied.
Rahul Ravindram claims that a little girl’s imitation of Rashmika Mandanna’s appearance from The Girlfriend is not a publicity gimmick. “My friends and I came dressed as Bhoomi (Rashmika’s character), but after watching the climax, I feel like taking off this dupatta and facing life head-on,” the young girl in the aforementioned video tells Rahul following the movie. “@GeethaArts was this girl invited for the success meet, or was she paid only to remove the dupatta and hug @23_rahulr after the screening,” an X user said in response.
https://x.com/23_rahulr/status/1989203871437320606?
Later, Rahul Ravindran wrote a lengthy note on X explaining that the event was not manufactured. “I didn’t want to react to any of this so as not to draw any more negativity towards the girl,” he wrote. However, the charges are becoming increasingly unfounded. First of all, we were attempting to choose between two theaters twenty minutes before to arriving at this one. We weren’t even certain that we would attend this one. Now I wish we hadn’t. We didn’t know who was seated where. Not to mention planting someone. Therefore, no, this isn’t a publicity stunt. Everything that occurred was entirely impulsive.
Rahul went on to say that the criticism provided an opportunity to reflect on societal prejudices. A small group of people lost it when a girl removed her dupatta as a symbolic gesture. Suddenly, they are worried about “preserving our culture.” Every week, before an action scene, men rip open their shirts.
I wonder why no one is offended. I’m merely raising concerns about microbiases; I’m not advocating for them to be triggered—that would be incredibly absurd. When guys take off their shirts to celebrate the success of their favorite team, celebrate New Year’s, or dance while intoxicated to their favorite music, nobody seems to mind. And nobody should. Seeing contented individuals express themselves is lovely.
After the performance, the director connected the girl with Rashmika, who expressed gratitude to the young admirer. Rahul also shared this video on Instagram, claiming that he did so with the girl’s consent despite his initial reluctance due to worries that she may be bullied on social media.
In closing, he asked why women are the only ones who are burdened by “culture. Why don’t many people in this tiny area wear dhotis on a daily basis? Why are they wearing trousers now? If maintaining our culture is so important, why do so many of them tweet in English? Don’t these questions sound foolish and immature? So why is it acceptable to treat women differently? I don’t know the answers.
Concerning The Girlfriend
The film, which was directed by Rahul Ravindran, centers on postgraduate student Bhooma Devi (Rashmika), who is tricked into falling in love with campus heartthrob Vikram (Dheekshith). She quickly finds herself in a toxic relationship from which she finds it difficult to break free. Anu Emmanuel and Rao Ramesh play important roles in the movie, which is produced by Dheeraj Mogilineni and Vidya Koppineni. The movie has made over ₹18 crore so far.
