Actor Siddharth, who is one of the most popular names in the Tamil film industry today, recalled the time when he was presented with scripts that demanded him to slap women and pinch their navels. He stated that while he rejected those scripts, others around him were busy being “aggressive and macho” at that time.

Siddharth, who attended the Hyderabad Literary Festival recently, shared how because he refused to promote toxic masculinity on screen, his career took a different trajectory compared to that of his contemporaries.

“I used to get scripts where I am slapping women, doing item songs, pinching somebody’s navel, telling a woman what she should do, where she should go... I rejected them outright. Of course, I might be a far bigger movie star today if I was differently wired,” he shared.