Ranveer Singh responds to Simmba's problematic messaging: Never intended to provide anything but entertainment

In a recent interview with News18,  Simmba star Ranveer Singh responded to a few points of criticism that the film received across the board. Rajeev Masand addressed points such as the fact that Simmba somehow uses rape as a trigger for the awakening of the protagonist Sangram Bhalerao (played by Singh). The other notion which many viewers got out of the film was that Simmba, while it upholds the narrative as one of women empowerment, somehow capitalises on details about the Nirbhaya case, which in essence, was considered distasteful. [caption id=“attachment_5871031” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Ranveer Singh on Rajeev Masand interview on Simmba. YouTube screengrab[/caption] On asked whether the actor was surprised by the critique, Ranveer admitted that it did not surprise him though he even added that the criticism would be better answered by director Rohit Shetty . Ranveer said that as an actor, there are often roles which come his way with which he may not necessarily agree, but enacts them nonetheless. He took the example of Alauddin Khilji in Padmaavat , whose dark and sombre tonalities are quite in contrast with Ranveer’s real life persona. “I would like a film to be viewed for what it is. It is for your (audiences) entertainment and don’t take it too seriously. I understand films have a potential to impact social change and that even happens often, but in my estimation, the primary purpose is entertainment,” added the star. He also said that since Simmba managed to achieve the tag of an ’entertainer’, Singh felt satisfied. The actor stated that many will have issues with stories and one point or the other will become offensive. Quoting an example of his real self, Ranveer said that his boisterous, vibrant self is often considered ’loud’ or ‘cheap’ by many. So the actor now feels that he cannot be concerned about criticism coming in from every quarter. Masand asked whether Ranveer thought that with greater popularity came a consciousness that the films need to have better messaging. To this Ranveer responded saying that, “I would like the takeaway from Simmba to be the fact that rape is a scourge on society and it ought to be dealt with in the harshest way possible.” Watch the full interview here.