Consent seems to be something hard to come by these days; even if one is in the public eye.
Right after Allu Arjun proclaimed at the pre-release event of Vijay Deverakonda’s ‘Taxiwaala’ that Telugu cinema treats women with upmost respect when asked about the
#MeToo
movement, irony prevailed as cinematographer
Chota K Naidu
found himself completely entitled to not just throw himself at
Kajal Aggarwal but also kiss her on the cheek without consent during the
teaser launch
of
Kavacham.
When a visibly shocked Kajal Aggarwal commented, “Chance pe dance,” and tried to brush it aside, Chota happily blamed the transgression on music director
Thaman S
instead. “Thaman said we can’t kiss you, why we can’t?” he asked even as Kajal’s co-stars
Bellamkonda Sai Sreenivas
and
Mehreen Pirzada looked on, shocked yet smiling.
Faced with such brazenness, Kajal too seemed to try to wiggle out of the awkward situation with a, “Okay chalo, it’s fine, Small (as she calls him) is like family to me.” None-the-less, Kajal’s fans seem triggered by the episode calling out the
cinematographer
on his behaviour. Despite numerous reports about the same, none of the cast and crew members have addressed the incident either.