Adil Hussain reacts to Sandeep Reddy Vanga's claim of making him famous: ‘Are Ang Lee, Mira Nair less famous than him?’

Actor Adil Hussain and director Sandeep Reddy Vanga clashed after the former said he was ‘embarrassed’ to be part of Kabir Singh, the Hindi remake of Arjun Reddy. The latter hit back with a tweet, claiming to have made the actor famous. At an interaction hosted by India Today NE, Adil responded to that. (Also Read: Adil Hussain remembers Sridevi on her birth anniversary: She will remain in our hearts forever)

‘God bless Sandeep Vanga’

When asked how he would respond to Sandeep’s tweet on how Adil’s ‘30 art films’ didn’t get him fame as much as the film he ‘regrets’ doing, he said, “How do I respond to that? If Ang Lee is less famous than him? Or if Mira Nair is less famous? Ang Lee is an Oscar-winner. Life of Pi got an Oscar. God bless Sandeep Vanga for counting the films I’ve done. I’ve never blamed him. I can understand he’s upset. I’ve only said that it’s my fault I did not read the script. The fault lies in me that I didn’t read the script. When I watched the film I realised, I made a big blunder. I only read my scene.”

In the same interaction, Adil also clarified that he retains the right to criticise films that glorify misogyny. He said, “Cinema is a powerful medium, it can influence you deeply. In a country where they build statues of heroes and worship them, what sort of films do you want to make? You have to take into account the innocence and the intellectual level of the mass audience. If you make a movie that glorifies violence and misogyny, I will always retain my right to criticise you.”

For the unversed, Adil acted in Mira Nair's The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Ang Lee's Life of Pi. He was recently seen in the Janhvi Kapoor-starrer Ulajh.

What transpired

On AP Podcast's YouTube channel earlier this year, Adil said that he could not sit through ‘20 minutes’ of Kabir Singh despite playing a role in it. “It legitimises male misogyny. It legitimises violence against anybody, for that matter; doesn’t have to be a woman. And it celebrates it, it glorifies it, and it should not be glorified,” he said, adding that he was ‘embarrassed’ to be a part of it, hoping that his wife ‘doesn’t watch it’ as she ‘wouldn’t approve’.

Sandeep was miffed when he watched the interview. Sharing it on X (formerly Twitter), he responded, “Ur 'belief' in 30 art films didn't get as much fame to u as ur 'regret' of 1 BLOCKBUSTER film did. I regret casting u, knwing that ur greed is bigger than ur passion. NOW I'll save U from the shame by replacing Ur face with AI help. Now smile properly.”

Sandeep last directed the Ranbir Kapoor, Rashmika Mandanna, Bobby Deol-starrer Animal. He will soon work with Prabhas in Spirit.