He’s mostly stayed away from controversy, so when actor Shreyas Talpade found himself in the middle of one recently, it surprised everybody. The actor had to take to social media to apologize over a film scene from his 2012 film Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal, that was tweeted by the handle @GemsOfBollywood.

Talking to us about it, he says, “Apparently, in one sequence in the film, I had to stop the tempo vehicle with my foot. At its front, was a sticker that said ‘Om’. Someone tweeted that I put my foot over the symbol. I play a Christian guy in the film. I didn’t realize my focus was on the fact that the tempo was coming at a specific speed, and if I would be able to stop it properly. I remember there was so much pressure during that sequence. I didn’t realize.”

Fortunately, another social media user brought it to the actor’s notice that his foot was actually next to the symbol, and not over it. But the 47-year-old felt it necessary to apologise anyway. “I don’t become a smaller person if I apologize. At the end of the day, Om has a bigger and religious connotation. I felt it was the right thing for me to apologize for something that actually happened unintentionally,” says the Kaun Pravin Tambe? (2022) actor, adding that he didn’t feel like clarifying further.

“I didn’t want to. Anyway, I completely respect people’s sentiments because I am also a religious guy. I have no intentions to create any controversy,” he wraps up.