'Housefull 5' director Tarun Mansukhani on the comedy's 'sexist' and 'offensive' portrayal of women: 'I'm actually happy that...'

‘Housefull 5’ director Tarun Mansukhani has finally broken silence on the film objectifying women and for its sexist tone. It is doing the numbers but it has also been criticized for its blatant objectification.

Mansukhani said, “I feel like that there’s a lot of scrutiny on social media. I also believe that scrutiny tends to only happen on successful films.”

He added, “You tend to keep quiet if a film isn’t working at all. That’s when no one has any opinion and they don’t say anything. So, when people are making noise about my film, I actually feel very happy about it.”

The director further revealed, “It means that they’re watching it with a certain eye and sensibility. You can scrutinise it. That’s fine. You’ve paid money to watch it and so, you get to have an opinion on my film.”

“It’s not a placid film about which you don’t care or have an opinion. For those who’re calling it out, I want to say that it’s your choice of seeing and focusing on that aspect of the film,” added the Housefull 5 director.

Ever since Deepika Padukone has quit Prabhas and Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Spirit, people like Kajol, Ajay Devgn, Mani Ratnam, Rana Daggubati have supported her stand. ‘Housefull 5’ director Tarun Mansukhani has done the same recently but his choices of words are getting mixed reactions.

The director said, “You can’t come to me at 11 am and say, ‘Oh, I need to leave at 5.’ I have scenes to finish with other actors, a location that may not be available again, and a budget to look into.”

He added, “I want to go home and spend time with my dog. So I get the vibe and totally get the feeling. But just put it in the contract from the beginning, then everyone’s prepared.”