Rashmika Mandanna responds to Animal controversy: 'There are grey characters in each one of us'

An international launch of Barkha Dutt's We The Women 2025 took place in London, bringing together influential figures from several sectors. Rashmika Mandanna was one of the recognisable faces that stole the show; she would go on to collect an award from the platform that same day.

Rashmika Mandanna opens up about her conservative upbringing

Mandanna discussed her upbringing, family history, and cinematic path in an interview chaired by Dutt. The actor reflected on her formative years, "I think in South Indian families, the whole concept of entering the film industry was a wrong thing to do. They didn't have the knowledge of how the film industry works. Since my sister and I have a 16-year age gap, I was the only child then, and my parents were super possessive and didn't want me to make any wrong choices."

Mandanna, who has grown into one of the country's most bankable actors, discussed the effects of fame on her life. She said, "It doesn't really get to me. I have friends back from school. I don't agree when we say with fame or success, you change. I just find it harder to change personalities. I truly believe in being kind and nice. There is no pretence in that. Today I have the privilege of staying true to who I really am."

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Addressing Animal controversy

The contentious discussion surrounding her 2023 smash Animal was another topic of inquiry. The portrayal of toxic masculinity and the presence of problematic male characters in the film upset many viewers. But Mandanna stuck to her position as a character. The actor shared, "Not really. There are grey characters in each one of us. It's just Sandeep Reddy Vanga spoke about a messed-up character and seems like people have celebrated it because it made the numbers. I was not really disturbed about it. People may like it or dislike it. People should go and watch a film for a film and not really judge the actors playing these characters. We are pretending on screen."