Radhika Madan reacts to being trolled for outfit, Sunny Kaushal jumps in: ‘She was looking absolutely stunning’

Radhika Madan is unfazed by the criticism she received for her outfit recently, while she was promoting her new release, Shiddat. Her co-star Sunny Kaushal jumped in with a compliment and said that she looked ‘absolutely stunning’.

Last month, Radhika stepped out for media interactions for Shiddat in a black crop top and high-waist pants with a houndstooth pattern. Her outfit failed to impress a section of people, who trolled her for it.

In an interview with Hindustan Times, Radhika said, “I don’t know, sabka apna opinion hai (everyone has their own opinion).” She added, “Main yeh bhi nahi keh sakti (I cannot say), ‘You are wrong’. Their opinion. Mujhe achcha laga, maine pehen liya, photos bhi post kar di. Comments padhne ke baad bhi (I liked it, so I wore it and shared photos, even after reading the comments).” She added, “Mereko kuch itna hota nahi hai (I don’t get too affected), to be honest.”

Sunny, however, was mighty impressed by Radhika’s look. “She was looking absolutely stunning, man. You remember you were getting into the lift to go down and I was inside the lift and I was like, ‘Whoa, wow!’ You know, Radhika has this beautiful trait - she is so self-assured about these things. I think even if something affects her, she probably just does this (gestures dodging a bullet), which is so beautiful,” he said. +

Radhika also talked about Shiddat, which she described as a ‘new-age love story’. “We have tried to show the complications of a simple thing like love, how we complicate it in our heads. Now, because we have dating apps and all, we are like ‘yeh nahi toh yeh (if not this one, that one)’. We are forgetting the old-school romance and purity of love. What do we do when we come across such love? How do we deal with it? That’s what the film is about. It’s very relatable, the youth is going to relate to it a lot and I hope it makes you think about love,” she said.

Working with Sunny was ‘really effortless’, Radhika said. “Mereko koi aise zaroorat nahi padi ki scene theek se nahi kar raha (I never felt like he was not doing the scene right) or he is not there. We were on the same page from the very first day. If two people are on the same page, you just end up playing in every single scene.”

Radhika said that her parents were very ‘emotional’ to watch the Shiddat trailer. “My mom is very filmy, woh Jaya Bachchan hai Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham ki. Woh bas aarti, nazar, ‘haaye meri beti’ and all. Woh toh ro hi rahi thi (She is like Jaya Bachchan’s character from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. She will pray, gush over me and all. She was crying). Both my parents, they become really emotional whenever anything of mine comes out. They make me feel that I am already there.”

Radhika also reflected on her journey from television (she started out by playing the lead role in the show Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi) to the big screen. She has previously opened up about being asked to undergo plastic surgery to ‘fix’ certain features.

Talking about it, she said, “It has been an experience full of learnings. Because isse aapko apne baare mein bohot cheezein pata chalti hai. Kya mujhe doosron ke opinions matter karte hai ya kya mujhe yeh matter karta hai ki main khud ke baare mein kya sochti hoon (through this, you get to know many things about yourself. You get to know whether others’ opinions matter to you or whether it only matters what you think about yourself),” she said.

“I really believe that people see in you what you see in yourself. And I really respect other people’s opinions. If they feel that way, then it’s fine. Great. I won’t diss their opinion,” she added.

Radhika said that she cannot be ‘delusional’ about her flaws. For instance, she said, if she has a mark on her face, she cannot deny its existence. “But you need to know for yourself what information you want to take in and what information you just want to pass,” she added.

While Radhika is happy to accept comments that would help her grow professionally, she is not so receptive to ‘superficial’ criticism. “I don’t buy that because that is subjective. And if it is subjective, apne baare mein main jo sochti hoon, main wohi karti hoon (my own opinion matters more than anyone else’s),” she said.

“So, it has been quite a nice journey. When you get comfortable with yourself, in your own skin, you start loving yourself. And that confidence reflects in whatever you do. I am just very happy with where I am right now. I don’t want to compete with anybody, I just want to live different life. I love my art and that is all I want to do till my last breath,” she concluded.