Actress Furious After Former Director Calls Her ‘Chilaka’

Goat is one of the upcoming films in Telugu. Starring Sudigali Sudheer in the lead role, the project was initially announced under the direction of Narresh K Lee. However, the director has reportedly been dropped from the movie now. The film is in the news for a long time and was started recently without the director. He is now venting out his frustration on the team, especially the lead actors. In a comment on X, the director called the heroine Divya Bharathi ‘Chilaka,’ which she found offensive.

Divya Bharathi is often stuck with controversies. She was earlier linked to a hero she paired up with. There were also speculations that she has some issues with other teams. But, Divya made it clear that she chose to respond only because she was dragged into the limelight unnecessarily and that being called Chilaka is unnecessary and degrading.

“Calling women ‘Chilaka’ or any other term isn’t a harmless joke; it’s a reflection of deep-rooted misogyny. And this wasn’t a one-off incident; this director followed the same pattern on set too, repeatedly disrespecting women and honestly, betraying the very art he claims to create. What disappointed me most was seeing the hero stay silent, allowing this culture to survive one more day.

I choose better. I choose workspaces where women aren’t targets for mockery, where every voice matters, and where respect is non-negotiable. This is not just a choice; it’s my standard as an artist and as a woman,” she wrote.

Later, the actress also defended her statement, saying that she has issues only with this particular director and not everyone.

“For those claiming I ‘always have issues’ with teams, facts matter. I’ve worked repeatedly with the same team, actors, and crews in Tamil cinema with zero conflicts. Only this one director crossed lines and made disrespectful comments. He chose to make it public, and I have every right to respond. If you still want to defend that behaviour, that’s your choice. I’m not losing sleep over it. If anyone chooses to speak poorly about me, I genuinely wish them well,” she wrote.

A lot of netizens are pouring in support to the actress while the director is still silent on what is going to happen.