Sonali Kulkarni issues statement after controversial speech on 'Indian women'
What's the story
Dil Chahta Hai actor Sonali Kulkarni found herself at the receiving end of social media flak when a video of her speaking at a recent event went viral.
In it, she could be heard calling Indian women "lazy" and "dependent on men," chiding them for "putting too much financial pressure on husbands/boyfriends."
Twitter was enraged and called her out, and now, she has apologized.
Twitter Post
This is what Kulkarni said at event
I don't know who she is but hats off to her courage to speak the unspoken unpalatable truth! 👏#Equality pic.twitter.com/vB2zwZerul
— Amit Srivastava 🕉️ (@AmiSri) March 15, 2023
Bashing
Kulkarni called out online by women, men equally
The actor's speech didn't go down too well with Twitter users, who claimed that Kulkarni was only "fishing for brownie points" and "ignoring decades of unpaid labor put in by women while doing household chores."
Others said that she lived in her "own sweet privileged bubble" and wasn't aware of what the reality looked like, while some opined that only "some points made sense."
Twitter Post
Here's how a Twitter user called her out
Sis needs to step out of privileged bubble to truly SEE women who step out to work in all kinds of industries and then step in to provide sexual, physical, emotional labour - raise children, cook, clean, pay bills, take care of elders, and have enough life left to provide sex
— Rituparna Chatterjee (@MasalaBai) March 17, 2023
Support
However, Kulkarni found some support, too, mostly from men
While the National Film Award-winning actor was being bashed left, right, and center on the microblogging site, she also received humungous support from a section of netizens, mostly men.
Some said that "finally someone is standing up for men's rights," while others were of the opinion that "more people need to listen to Kulkarni."
The house, evidently, is divided on this blazing matter.
Apology
Kulkarni has now tried to clarify her stance
A day after her statement went viral on Twitter, the Taxi No. 9211 actor posted an apology statement on Saturday night.
Part of it read, "If unknowingly, I may have caused pain, I want to apologize from the bottom of my heart. I do not want to thrive upon headlines, neither do I want to be the center of sensational situations."
Twitter Post
Read the entire apology statement here
— sonalikulkarni (@sonalikulkarni) March 18, 2023
Career
Career: What is Kulkarni known for?
Primarily a Marathi actor, Kulkarni has also worked in Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Gujarati, and English movies.
She starred opposite Saif Ali Khan in Dil Chahta Hai and played Nana Patekar's wife in Taxi No. 9211, among other successful Hindi projects.
Her other well-known films include Mukta, Mission Kashmir, Singham, The Good Road, and Pension.
She is also a producer and writer.