Defining a woman’s beauty has never been a problem all these years: DSP on Oo Antava row

The music composer says that the Samantha Ruth Prabhu dance number from Pushpa: The Rise is a song with a social message; adds he has always steered clear from lyrics with innuendos

The sound track of actor Allu Arjun-starrer, Pushpa: The Rise (2021), has garnered a lot of attention. Even the tracks in the Hindi version of the film including Srivalli, Oo Bolega Ya Oo Oo Bolega and Sami Sami have been topping charts and have struck a chord with the audience.

Music composer Devi Sri Prasad

While the Telugu song Oo Antava featuring actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu has emerged as a chartbuster across five languages, a few have slammed the dance number for being outright misogynistic and sleazy.

Talking to us, music composer, Devi Sri Prasad, popularly known as DSP, says, “With Oo Antava, we aren’t demeaning anyone. We’re simply describing certain men. Defining a woman’s body and beauty has never been a problem all these years. Some of the biggest music directors have composed such songs.” He adds that they have received the most amount of appreciation from women and that it’s more of “a social message song rather than an item number”.

Known for his dance numbers such as Ringa Ringa (Arya 2; 2009) and Seeti Maar (DJ: Duvvada Jagannadham; 2017), among others, he asserts that he has always steered clear from lyrics with innuendos: “I’m very careful with the lyrics in all my dance songs. In fact, most of them are sung by kids. Dhinka Chika (Ready; 2011), for example. I always tell my directors and lyricists that there shouldn’t be anything derogatory in the words. But sometimes, the hidden grammar is unavoidable.”