Actress Rashmika Mandanna has made a name for herself in the entertainment industry with her work in Hindi and Telugu films. Having worked closely with filmmaker Sandeep Reddy Vanga, who is currently making the headlines for his ongoing controversy with Deepika Padukone over his film Spirit, in Ranbir Kapoor starrer Animal, she had once openly defended him against claims that he made films promoting toxic masculinity and degrading women in them.

While addressing the topic, during an interview with Siddharth Kannan, she had expressed that both Vanga as well as Sukumar, who has directed her in the Pushpa franchise, have “utmost respect towards a woman.” Quoted by News18, Rashmika went on to share, “They don’t look at women as creatures who need help, they think that women are powerful. It comes through their craft.”

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Revealing that her characters Geetanjali and Srivalli get the guts to stand up to Ranvijay or Pushpa is because the filmmakers have respect towards women. The 29-year-old actress said, “Geetanjali or Srivalli, both of these characters know that Ranvijay or Pushpa are killing 200 people out there, but still, they have the guts to stand up against them when they make a mistake. Voicing that up takes courage, Vanga and Sukumar think that a woman standing up against a man who can kill 200 people is possible because of their respect towards women.”

The Chhaava actress added that both filmmakers often show their respect towards women through their films. She explained that going into the depths of it, one will easily be able to see the “love and respect they have for women,” something that she has seen and portrayed. “That just came across through my character, because I have also done characters where I needed help, I needed to be saved, I will do those characters also. But these characters show a woman through a director’s eyes, so it’s an honour to be directed by them.”

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Talking about the Spirit controversy, various media reports claimed that the Vanga had removed Deepika from Prabhas starrer Spirit due to her “unprofessional” behaviour and demands. Her demands, being a new mother, reportedly included an eight-hour workday, asking for a hefty remuneration along with a percentage of the film’s profit. This frustrated Vanga to the point that he decided to part ways with her and remove her from the project. After this, Triptii Dimri was taken on board for the film.

While, there have been quite a few media reports mudslinging on both the actresses and scrutinising their till-date works and the kind of roles they have played, Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s tweet, caused an uproar on social media after he slammed the actress for “playing dirty PR” games and leaking the story of his film. This led to the internet calling him out for badmouthing Deepika Padukone.