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Nani gets schooled for asking women to wear braids instead of being ‘influenced’ by West: ‘We have more important stuff’

While promoting The Paradise in Karnataka, Nani made a comment about women no longer wearing braids that received varied reactions online.

Published on: Sep 19, 2026, 12:11:24 IST
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Actor Nani is busy promoting his upcoming film, The Paradise, directed by Srikanth Odela. The actor was in Karnataka recently for the film’s promotions, when he made a comment about how women should go back to wearing braids. He was schooled by a reporter who was there, and it turned into a fun exchange. But the internet continued to school Nani about it.

What did Nani say?

Nani plays the lead in Srikanth Odela's The Paradise.
Nani plays the lead in Srikanth Odela's The Paradise.

Nani spoke about the braids his character Jadal wears in The Paradise and said, “Nobody is wearing braids nowadays. Women look beautiful in braids. You should all go back to braids.” He then pointed at a female reporter at the conference and said, “See, you’re not wearing braids. Our mothers would always braid their daughters’ hair. Somewhere, we are getting influenced by Western culture. Let’s go back to braids. I hope Jadal starts that trend.”

The reporter he pointed at awkwardly laughed it off, and said that these days men are growing out their hair. Nani recalled that the girls at his school had thick hair. “Nowadays, hairfall is happening because you’re not putting braids. Put braids, put oil, then you’ll have strong hair like Jadal.” Another female reporter said that women would’ve listened to him had he grown his hair for the movie instead of using a wig.

While some on the internet found the exchange between Nani and the reporters about women wearing braids hilarious, others thought the actor should not have told women what to do. “Meanwhile them wearing shorts and baniyan s all the f**king time at all the f**king place...they don't even what were the cultural outfits of ancient men..” wrote an X (formerly Twitter) user reacting to the exchange.

“Who's gonna talk about hard water in shower?” joked another, referring to his hairfall comment. “Juttu unte memu veskuntam,lenapudu mem em chesedi (If we had hair, we’d already be doing it. What are we supposed to do with no hair?)” joked another. One X user even wrote, “ehe mee opinions mee deggara unchukondi saar. idhantha enduku meeku. asalu endhi mee problem asalu. (Keep your opinions to yourself. Why do you care and what’s your issue?) it takes effort and time and practice to do braids and we have more important stuff to focus on now than "braids".”

“Put braids enti put braids. techi pettukomantunnadenti. Niku juttu ledhu kabatti you putted. (What do you mean put braids? Why’s he asking us to grow hair. Because you don’t have hair, you used a wig) They have hair and they will braid their hair if they fking wanted to. STF Nani. Promote your work just by talking about your work,” fumed an X user, while another wrote, ““getting influenced by western culture” i can’t believe he actually said that.”

The Paradise, which also stars Kayadu Lohar, Mohan Babu and Raghav Juyal, is hitting screens on September 24.

 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeshita Nyayapati

Despite having a Master's degree in Journalism and over a decade of experience in print and digital media as a field reporter and sub-editor at organisations such as The Times of India and Reader's Digest, Neeshita Nyayapati remains a movie buff first and a Chief Content Producer second. She fell in love with movies in childhood and believes nothing matches the magic of watching a good film that moves you with a warm tub of popcorn in hand. Her love for writing about cinema follows that. Come Friday, you'll find her at her happy place, the movies, catching the latest rom-com or masala offering, for reviews or otherwise. As for the rest of the week, she's here reporting the juiciest news in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi or bringing out the best of celebs in interviews. While her niche is Telugu cinema, Neeshita likes to dabble in a little bit of everything to stay up to date. From film announcements to scandals and hard news angles, she has explored it all. A good book, a comforting cup of hot chocolate, puppy kisses and a stunning beach view are all she needs to unwind. Her passion for biking and travelling has taken her to various places across the country. She has found peace in everything from the frozen lakes of Gangtok to the coffee plantations of Coorg and the dense forests of Bandipur, to the monasteries of Darjeeling. But no matter where she goes, Neeshita loves coming across inspiring and moving stories.

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