Rakul Preet Singh cites Shahid Kapoor's Kabir Singh after being trolled for smoking in Manmadhudu 2

Rakul Preet Singh who is gearing up for her next release Manmadhudu 2 opposite Nagarjuna Akkineni received criticism for her introductory scene in the film’s teaser. The clip shows her as a demure, young woman in the beginning but later depicts her in a completely different light. Towards the end, Rakul can be seen smoking which has particularly drawn ire on social media. In an interview to Pinkvilla,  she made a reference to Shahid Kapoor’s recent release Kabir Singh, where he plays an alcoholic surgeon. “I don’t really get bothered by trolls. We are playing characters. Now, Kabir Singh (for example)…if Shahid is smoking in the film it does not make him a smoker. (In) no way is he promoting smoking. He is playing a character Arjun Reddy that is flawed.” [caption id=“attachment_7003871” align=“alignnone” width=“800”] Rakul Preet Singh in the teaser | Twitter[/caption] The trolls accused Rakul of “promoting smoking”, describing the scene as “deeply disturbing”. She insisted that her character does in the film is not a “generalised” representation but depicts only one person. She urged the viewers to keep in mind that she is playing a character, and not form assumptions before even watching the film, “It is that one character (Avantika) that smokes and it’s her story. Once you see the film, you will know why she does it. Treat her like the character. I really don’t pay attention to trolls…there are bigger and better things to do.” A sequel to the super hit flick Manmadhudu, Manmadhudu 2 is Rakul and Nagarjuna’s first film together as a lead couple. Watch the teaser here