Tamannaah Bhatia reacts to her romantic scene with Prabhas in 'Baahubali' being criticised: 'People look down upon the process by which you and I are here'

Time of India

04-08-2025

The '
Baahubali
' franchise is one of the biggest franchise movies in Indian cinema. It changed a lot of things overall when it comes to Pan India movies. While it remains iconic now in many ways,'Baahubali' has also gotten some bit of criticism.
For instance,
Prabhas
and
Tamannaah Bhatia
's intimate scene in Part 1 got criticised. Infact, a review said, 'it was the rape of
Avantika
(Tamannaah's character) in the movie. In a recent interview, Tamannaah has spoken about it and her perspective on the scene.
She opened up on this much-debated scene from 'Baahubali: The Beginning'. The film has long faced backlash for what some viewers perceived as objectification and even the 'rape' of her character.
Now, the actress has addressed the criticism head-on in a conversation with The Lallantop. Responding to the accusations surrounding the scene, Tamannaah offered a broader perspective on public judgment. 'This is my take.
Jab log aapko control nahi kar sakte, woh ek technique istemaal karte aur woh hai shame and guilt. Kyunki woh hamesha aapko aisa mehsoos karate hai ki aap jo bhi kare uske baare mein aapko sharmanaak hona chahiye.
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Jab woh aapko mehsoos kara sakte woh aap pe control paa sakte hain. This is one aspect of the conversation,' she said, highlighting how shame is often used as a tool to suppress agency.
Tamannaah also delved into the cultural discomfort around expressions of intimacy, stating, 'In our country, people look down upon the idea of the process by which you and I are here today. If our parents didn't come together, I don't think you'd be here.
Neither would I nor would anybody else be.' She added, 'Jo itni pure cheez hai, ussi ko ham sabse gandi nazar se dekthe hai. Woh nazariya jo hai, wo ham sabko aise mehsoos karate hain that we have to be ashamed about that aspect of our lives – to hide and not discuss, or we can't be open about that conversation.
'
Recounting the vision director SS Rajamouli had while conceptualising the scene, Tamannaah shared that it was rooted in a deeper emotional narrative.
'I remember when Rajamouli sir was explaining that entire sequence to me, he was like, 'She is that divine feminine, who is wounded. She is beautiful. She is feminine. She wants to be loved. But she has gone through so much hardship in her life that she feels like she needs to push everybody away.
She can't let anybody inside because they will always take advantage of her. So, she holds boundaries. But, here, there is a young man who is merely trying to woo her to make her see how beautiful she is.''
She further broke down the symbolism of the transformation Avantika undergoes during the scene. Dhr dsif, 'Agar aapko yeh visually darshana pade, toh there was an entire sequence about, kuch baali (earrings) shift ho jaati hai, bindi lag jaati hai – jab apne aap ko dekhti hai… apna khud ka chehra dekhti hai – wo dekhti arrey mujhe hameesha se lagta tha ki maine….apne aap ko itna strong kar diya tha ki apni jo namrata hai wo kahi na kahi gum ho gayi thi.
'
On the most serious allegation—that the scene depicted Avantika's rape, Tamannaah was clear in her stance. 'I don't think I take the burden of that and, as creative people, I don't think it was the rape of Avantika. It was Avantika finding herself through a young man who was wooing her,' she firmly stated.