Ramayan’s Deepika Chikhalia slams Kriti Sanon over kiss controversy, says ‘we couldn’t even hug anyone’

New Delhi: Deepika Chikhalia, who played the role of Sita in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana, has reacted to the latest controversy after ‘Adipurush’ director Om Raut allegedly kissed actress Kriti Sanon on the cheeks at the Tirupati temple premises. Deepika, who immortalized the role of Sita, expressed her displeasure over the incident and slammed the actor, saying ‘Kriti might not have thought of herself as Sita.’

For the uninitiated, Kriti is playing the role of ‘Jaanki’ in Om Raut’s pan-India release ‘Adipurush’, which is set to hit the theaters on June 16, 2023. Deepika’s comment came after a video featuring Om Raut and Kriti Sanon. A goodbye kiss at a Tirupati temple has sparked outrage on the internet.

Controversy over director Om Raut kissing Kriti Sanon (who played Sitaji) outside the Tirupati temple
,#WTCFinal2023 #Adipurush #AdipurushTrailer2 #kritisana #Omraut #Prabhas #Bhushankumar #farmers protest #WTC2023 #Ashwin #Rohitsharma # Embarrassing #lucnowcourt #Kolapur pic.twitter.com/t6afK04hLr
— _______ ____ _ (@Deshpremiindia) June 8, 2023

Talking to ‘Aajtak’, Deepika said, “Kriti is the actress of today’s generation and nowadays kissing and hugging are seen as sweet gestures. She never thought of herself as Sita.” Deepika said that while she was playing the character, she “lived as Sita but today’s actors think of it as a character. They don’t bother after the film is over.”

Deepika recalled that during the 1980s when Ramayana was on air, no one called the actors by their names. “When we were in character on the set, people would come and touch our feet. Those times were different. People didn’t think of us as actors, they thought of us as gods. We couldn’t even hug anyone, There wasn’t even a kiss.” That is out of the question. After the release of Aadipurush, actors would get busy with their next project and forget about their characters but that never happened to us,” he said.

He added that “they were treated as if we were gods who came to live in this world. That’s why we never did anything that hurt people’s sentiments.”

Meanwhile, BJP state secretary Ramesh Naidu Nagothu also reacted to the incident and shared a screenshot of the clip featuring Kriti and Om Raut and criticized the action. “Engaging in public displays of affection like kissing and hugging in front of Lord Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirumala is considered disrespectful and unacceptable,” he shared the now-deleted tweet.

Deepika played the lead role of Goddess Sita in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana. Actor Arun Govil has played the role of Lord Ram. The show was telecast on Doordarshan channel in the late 80s.