'South Wale Bohot Sensitive Hote Hain’: Sunita Ahuja Reacts To Ranveer Singh’s Kantara Mimicry Controversy

Sunita Ahuja, wife of Govinda, has weighed in on the recent uproar surrounding Ranveer Singh and his imitation of a ritual sequence from Kantara Chapter 1. The controversy erupted after Ranveer mimicked the film’s iconic “Chaundi” scene — a sacred part of a procession devoted to the deity Goddess Chavundi — at the closing ceremony of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa. The performance reportedly took place in front of the movie’s lead actor, Rishab Shetty, mere days before the release of Ranveer’s new film Dhurandhar. 

Speaking to Zoom, Ahuja said, “Uska intention aisa nahin hoga, vo masti bohot karta hai. South wale bohot sensitive hote hain toh unko kharab lag gaya.” (He may not have had bad intentions — he’s very playful. People down South are very sensitive, so it upset them.) She emphasized that Ranveer probably didn’t mean any insult; rather, he was acting light-heartedly, and that susceptibility of some members of the South-Indian audience might have led to the backlash. 

In response to the widespread criticism, Ranveer Singh issued an apology on December 2. In his statement, he acknowledged that he may have hurt sentiments — clarifying that his only aim was to admire Rishab Shetty’s performance in Kantara and not to mock any tradition or community.  Meanwhile, a complaint was filed with the police by the Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS), accusing Ranveer of insulting Goddess Chamundadevi and hurting religious sentiments, particularly of the Tulu-speaking community.

At the time, Ranveer is riding the success of Dhurandhar, which has a star-studded cast including Akshaye Khanna, R. Madhavan, Arjun Rampal, among others. 

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