The soundtrack of Allu Arjun-starrer Pushpa: The Rise - Part 01 (2021) has received a lot of attention, Oo Antava being one of the popular songs in the film. While the track, featuring actor Samantha, has emerged as a chartbuster across five languages, some slammed the dance number as sleazy and misogynistic.

Commenting on the subject, the film’s 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 the song has received the most appreciation from women, and that it’s more of “a social message song, rather than an item number”.

Known for dance numbers, DSP 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, like Dhinka Chika (Ready; 2011). I always tell my directors and lyricists that there shouldn’t be anything derogatory... But sometimes, the hidden grammar is unavoidable.”

In fact, he states that a song makes the cut for him only once he makes his family listen to it at the dining table. “When I read the lyrics, I ask [myself] if I would be able to play it in front of my mother and sister. I have often argued in situations where a song was likely to make women feel uncomfortable. When you’re brought up in a household with strong women around you, the way you look at women, in general, is different,” he says, adding that Pushpa’s director Sukumar and lyricist Chandrabose also “respect women a lot”.