Producer Chittibabu Defends Comments on Samantha, Says She’s “Quite Old”

Producer Chittibabu has once again stirred controversy with his comments on Telugu actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu. After the actress shared an Instagram story about the hair growth in certain body parts, Chittibabu responded by stating that he had no objection to studying and reporting on the topic.

In a previous interview, Chittibabu had declared that Samantha’s career as a “star heroine” was over and that she was using “cheap tactics” to promote her movies. He also claimed that he was surprised to see her playing the lead role in Shaakuntalam.

Chittibabu has now defended his statements, stating that he meant Samantha is not suitable to play younger characters anymore. “Samantha is not 18-20 years old now. Quite old, so I said she was not a suitable choice for the role of the iconic beauty Shakuntala, what’s wrong with that? Her glamorous days are over and it’s time to move on to supporting roles,” he reportedly said, adding that Samantha is not ready to accept the truth.

Meanwhile, Shaakuntalam, a Telugu language mythological drama film directed by Gunasekhar and starring Samantha, was released in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi on April 14. The film failed to draw crowds on its first day and reportedly earned Rs 5 crores across all languages. It faired poorly on day 2 as well and collected just Rs 1.5 crores. On day 3, Shaakuntalam managed to earn Rs 2 crore, but the makers are said to have suffered more than Rs 20 crore in losses.

The controversy surrounding Chittibabu’s comments on Samantha has once again brought attention to the issue of ageism in the film industry. Many have criticized the producer’s statements, stating that age should not be a barrier for actresses to play lead roles. The debate continues as the film industry grapples with issues of representation and inclusivity.