Renowned director-producer Atlee has directed successful motion pictures, including as the box office successes Theri, Mersal, and Bigil. He made his Bollywood debut with Jawan, starring Shahrukh Khan, which became his highest-grossing picture. Baby John, Atlee’s next production, starring Varun Dhawan.
On Saturday, Atlee made an appearance on the sets of The Great Indian Kapil Show. Kapil Sharma hosts the well-liked comedy series. For all the wrong reasons, a scene involving Atlee and Kapil Sharma from the episode went viral.
Kapil discreetly disparaged the director Atlee’s appearance in the episode:
One of Kapil’s questions to Atlee has caused controversy since internet users think the host was making fun of the director’s appearance. Kapil talked about how, although being relatively young, Atlee had already achieved great success as a producer and director. Kapil went on to enquire of Atlee,
“Kabhi aapke sath aisa hua hai ki aap kisi star se milne gaye ho first time aur usko laga hi na ho ki aap Atlee ho, usne kaha where is Atlee?” (Has it ever happened that you went to meet a star and they didn’t recognise you? Have they asked where is Atlee?)”
The crowd was moved by Atlee’s reaction to the demeaning query:
The studio audience erupted in cheers after Atlee’s clever answer to the insulting query. It won over netizens’ hearts as well. Atlee initially appeared somewhat surprised by the inquiry, but she simply answered,
“Sir, in a way I understood your question. I’ll try to answer. I am actually very thankful to AR Murugadoss sir because he produced my first film. He asked for the script, but he didn’t see how I am looking and whether I am capable of it or not, but he loved my narration. I think world should see that. By appearance we should not judge, by heart you should judge.”
Watch the video here
Kapil Sharma subtly insults Atlee's looks?
— Surajit (@surajit_ghosh2) December 15, 2024
Atlee responds like a boss: Don't judge by appearance, judge by the heart.#Atlee #KapilSharma pic.twitter.com/oSzU0pRDS4
Internet users criticised Kapil Sharma for the inquiry and charged him with body-shaming:
Netizens, however, are furious about a particular portion in which Kapil discreetly disparaged Atlee’s appearance. Atlee appears to have won many over with his appropriate response.
On the show, Atlee also defended Archana Puran Singh:
In the same episode, Kapil Sharma also made fun of Archana Puran Singh. Atlee stood by her side and asked Kapil to refrain from mocking her. He referred to Archana as the show’s “saviour.”
Coincidentally, Kapil presented her to the director, saying,
“Her name is Archana Puran Singh because she is a great admirer of Daku Mohan Singh. There was a man in his gang inspired by which her name was kept”
When everyone burst into laughter, Atlee said,
“Don’t pull her leg, she is the only saviour of the show for me. Whenever she laughs, I am going to laugh, because I know nothing, I am waiting for her cue.”
Archana immediately responded to him saying,
“Well said Atlee, you and I are a team now.”
With a box office total of nearly Rs 1000 crore, Atlee Jawan broke all previous records and became one of the highest-grossing films in Indian cinema history. His most recent film, Baby John, is an adaptation of his Tamil film Theri and is slated for release on December 25. In Baby John, Varun plays the lead, while Jackie Shroff, Keethy Suresh, and Wamiqa Gabbi play important parts.
