Sivaji doubles down on his statement about actresses dressing modestly: ‘What if Nidhhi Agerwal's clothes had slipped?’

After backlash, actor Sivaji held a press meet in Hyderabad and doubled down on his opinion of how actresses should dress. He even brought up Nidhhi Agerwal.

After two days of backlash following his statement on how actresses should dress, actor Sivaji held a press conference in Hyderabad to address the issue. Blaming Nidhhi Agerwal’s mobbing incident for ‘provoking’ him to speak about it, Sivaji doubled down on his statement, apologising only for the defamatory words he had used in his speech. (Also Read: ‘Not the 1st time’: After Sivaji claims to respect women in apology, internet digs out offensive videos from Bigg Boss)

Sivaji says he was provoked by Nidhhi Agerwal's mobbing to speak about actresses' clothes.

Sivaji apologises for ‘unparliamentary words’

Sivaji claimed that in all these years, he has never ‘crossed his limits’ while speaking about women. “I still don’t know how these words came out of my mouth. As soon as I finished my speech, I realised I had made a mistake. I sincerely apologise for using those two unparliamentary words,” he said. The actor also said that it hurts him that his family would be embarrassed by others.

“I regret it from the bottom of my soul; it will haunt me for the rest of my life. I’m only human,” said Sivaji, before adding, “But I stand by the statement I had given; there’s no backing down, and nobody to fear. Provoking is also a crime.” For the unversed, Sivaji had termed actresses who don’t dress modestly as ‘daridrapu m***alu’ (wretched women), criticising them for showing their ‘saamaan’ (assets).

‘Provoked’ by Nidhhi Agerwal’s mobbing

While doubling down on his previous statement, Sivaji made comments about how Nidhhi was dressed when she was mobbed at The Raja Saab event. “What if Nidhhi Agerwal’s clothes had slipped that day at Lulu Mall? Won’t those videos be there for everyone to see for the rest of her life? Will anybody remove the videos even if asked? That is the situation that provoked me. She looked so embarrassed after getting into her car,” he claimed.

The actor claimed that he had not seen Samantha Ruth Prabhu’s video of her getting mobbed at a store opening, but had heard of it. “I did not watch Samantha garu’s video, but was told what had happened. All I said was to wear modest clothes or a saree while going out for their safety. Who am I to tell anybody what to do? I did not mention anybody by name, and yet I have been vilified by people.”

“Cinema has often been blamed for influencing society; I did not want to give anyone the chance to do that,” claimed Sivaji. Later in the press meet, he claimed that he did, in fact, watch Samantha's video and that she had the ‘advantage of wearing a saree’, which is why she didn't ‘look uncomfortable’. He also stated that he's worried that if something untoward happens when actresses are mobbed, they might ‘die by suicide’.

When a reporter pointed out that people are raped every day irrespective of age or dress, he claimed, “My point was only to say let's be careful, not to moral police.” When she asked him about his statements on Bigg Boss Telugu 7, he responded, “I have crossed 50. That is how we speak in our village, irrespective of gender.” He chalked down saying he wanted to ‘stomp on her neck’ to ‘possessiveness’ and ‘protectiveness’.

Brings up Anasuya Bharadwaj, Chinmayi Sripada

Sivaji also mentioned actor and TV host Anasuya Bharadwaj by name, questioning why she was ‘inserting herself’ into the issue when he hadn’t mentioned her at all. She was one among many who criticised him for moral policing women.

When he said, “I hope I get the chance to repay you someday, despite you calling me insecure,” Sivaji was asked to clarify what he meant. “I only meant that I will support her should she face something similar,” he claimed.

Sivaji also pointed out that he noticed many on social media tagging Chinmayi, saying, “I noticed people kept tagging, I forgot her name, who is she? Rahul's wife. Yes, Chinmayi.”

The actor also admitted that he had been served a summons by the Telangana Women's Commission on the issue. “Even if I have the support of people, what I said was wrong. But I know I haven't made any other mistake,” he said.

However, he claimed to be hurt that nobody who raised an issue with it had called him after the incident, and instead, it had been escalated. Sivaji also called out why others in the film industry who share such thoughts aren't questioned.