Mumbai: Ram Gopal Varma had stirred a controversy in 2015 by talking about Sridevi’s ‘thunder thighs’.
Ten years later, the filmmaker defended his controversial statement, insisting that the actress wouldn’t have achieved stardom if she had thin legs.
Revisiting the controversy during his appearance on Zoom’s YouTube channel for a podcast, RGV said: “What is wrong with objectification? That was an asset she had apart from her talent. I think calling it objectification is objectification. How does a person become unique? There will be reasons. You should not limit it to the fact that she’s a great actress or a great human being. It could be due to this also. Why avoid it? When did I say she’s not an actor? I was saying they (her thunder thighs) also contributed (to her fame).”
He added, “I personally believe if she had thin legs, she would have never become a star. They were part of the whole package. If Amitabh Bachchan were 6 inches shorter, I’m not very sure he would have become a big star. Or if Shah Rukh Khan were 6 inches taller, I don’t know if he would have been a big star.”
Talking about facing backlash for his remarks about Sridevi in 2015, the filmmaker said it was in jest.
RGV, who collaborated with Sridevi in films like ‘Great Robbery’, ‘Govindhaa Govindhaa’ and ‘Hairaan’, dedicated an entire chapter to Sridevi in his book ‘Guns and Thighs’.
Speaking about his obsession with Sridevi, the filmmaker added that he “hated” her husband Boney Kapoor for “bringing that angel down from heaven to such an ordinary, humdrum existence.”
Defending his statement at that time, RGV had tweeted, “Srideviji’s fame is not only because of her acting capacity but it’s also because of her thundering thighs –top critics of Himmatwala time…If only acting talent is a measure for stardom why was’nt Smita Patil bigger than Srideviji..The thunder thighs made the difference.”
If only acting talent is a measure for stardom why was’nt Smita Patil bigger than Srideviji..The thunder thighs made the difference
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) December 1, 2015
