Mrunal Thakur: Next time, I will wear a saree and swim

Trolled for her bikini pictures, Mrunal hits back at detractors; says audience must differentiate between her Sita Ramam and off-screen avatars
Priyanka Sharma (MID-DAY; April 12, 2023)

In her decade-long journey in the entertainment industry, Mrunal Thakur has had a significant evolution on the professional front. A stint in television was followed by films, which in turn led to hits, the most recent being the Telugu romantic drama, Sita Ramam (2022). Her personal evolution has been equally remarkable.

“[Earlier], I said no to a lot of films because they had kissing scenes and romantically-inclined sequences. I don’t regret that decision, but at that time, I used to find it inappropriate. Today, I understand it’s the demand of the character. For instance, if my character is a bad girl, I have to play it convincingly. That’s my job,” she reasons.

This understanding has made her more assured, both as an artiste and a person. Unfortunately, a section of the audience does not seem to understand the distinction between an on-screen character and the actor playing it.

Recently, Thakur was trolled for posting her bikini pictures from a beach holiday, on Instagram.

While the actor’s fans showered her with compliments, some netizens resorted to regressive comments, remarking that they were disappointed to see her in a bikini after she wowed them in a saree in Sita Ramam. Thakur chooses sarcasm to hit back at them.

“What do I do? I have made my peace with it. Next time, I promise all those people that I will wear a saree and swim. In fact, I was wearing a saree, and it came [undone] while I was swimming. I am so sorry that the saree came [undone]. That should have been my caption,” she laughs.

Such incidents are the pitfalls of being a public figure. They also make one realize that the audience can be judgmental, pushing an actor back to the fears s/he has worked hard to overcome. Thankfully, Thakur chooses to march to her own beat.

“I am so afraid to put up a picture because no matter whether I am covered or not, people will morph it. We are all victims of that. It’s disheartening, but at the same time, I will not stop living my life. People should be a little sensitive, because we are doing our job.”