Telangana women's commission issues notice to Sivaji for his derogatory remarks against women, actor issues apology

Sivaji has now issued a public apology

• Actor Sivaji faces backlash for comments on women's dressing at Dhandoraa event
• Over 100 Telugu film industry women filed a complaint with MAA against Sivaji
• Sivaji issued an unconditional apology, admitting his words were inappropriate

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Telugu actor Sivaji is back in the news yet again but this time for a wrong reason. The actor's comments on women and their dressing sense at the pre-release event of Dhandoraa has received backlash and a lot of complaints.

The actor used 'unparliamentary words' and objectified women and this did not go well with women. It was clearly seen that women around him on the stage also felt uncomfortable with the terms he used.

The Court actor has now issued an unconditional apology and said that he never meant to insult or belittle women.

He said that his comments were meant to address the safety concerns wrt female actors, but he also admitted that the way he said what he wanted to say was wrong.

Sivaji said in a video statement posted on X, "These days, heroines are going through tough times." I meant to say something nice, but I used some words I shouldn't have. I wasn't talking about all women. What I meant was that heroines might be able to avoid some problems if they are careful about what they wear when they go out. I didn't mean to hurt or insult anyone when I said this. He wrote an apology in the post's caption, saying that he was truly sorry for what he said at the Dhandoraa pre-release event.

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Sivaji further said that people misunderstood what he meant and that his message would have been better received if he had chosen his words more carefully.

I sincerely apologise for my words during the Dhandoraa pre-release event last night. @itsmaatelugu

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— Sivaji (@ActorSivaji) December 23, 2025

"I meant well, but it would have been better if those two words hadn't come out. He went on to say, "I never meant to insult anyone; I just wanted to say something helpful," he went on to say in his video message.

The argument started when Sivaji, who had just played a bad guy in Court, spoke to the crowd at the event and praised the female host for wearing a saree.

He then went on to talk about how he thought actresses should dress, which many people thought were unsolicited and moralistic comments.

What Sivaji said

Here’s what he had originally said during the pre release event.

Sivaji said actresses shouldn't wear revealing clothes and that the beauty is not in 'displaying physical assets' but in dressing modestly, like in sarees or fully covered clothes.

He also talked about women as nature and motherhood, naming past actresses and even Rashmika Mandanna while talking about what he called 'modest' clothing.

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Sivaji ended his speech by talking about freedom and behaviour. He said that glamour should have limits and not go too far.

Online, these comments quickly drew a lot of negative attention, with many saying they were inappropriate and not appropriate for a public platform.

Sivaji's comments receive backlash

Over 100 women professionals from the Telugu film industry have now joined forces to file a formal complaint with the Movie Artists Association (MAA) against Sivaji for his controversial comments.

Actor-producer Lakshmi Manchu said firmly that the MAA's response shows that the complaint has been officially acknowledged.

Talking to the media, she said, "The fact that they have responded shows that our complaint has been taken seriously."

Lakshmi Manchu, along with well-known industry figures like director Nandini Reddy, producer Swapna Dutt, actor Jhansi, and executive Supriya Yarlagadda, had already sent a strongly worded letter to MAA demanding accountability.

Lakshmi said that the group was standing up for women's dignity and that structural change was needed. "We are honouring being a woman. We want a committee to be formed and clear rules to be set on how men should talk about women," she said.

Not the first controversy for Sivaji

This is definitely not the first time Sivaji is in the news for his comments.

Looks like he is yet to shed the character called Mangapathi which he played in the film called Court, that released earlier this year.

Telangana Women’s Commission also issued a notice to him seeking apology for the derogatory comments he made. They also filed a suo moto case against him.

Unfortunately, none of the biggies of Telugu film industry have condemned his words yet. If the pillars of Tollywood, the Producers Guild and the representatives come forward, we can at least prevent others from passing such comments in the future. It is high time a lesson should be taught to actors like Sivaji.

There was a lot of backlash, and it wasn't just on social media. Many famous actors and actresses spoke out about what happened.

Among those who spoke out were filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma and actors Lakshmi Manchu, Manchu Manoj, and Anasuya Bharadwaj. They all stressed how important it is to respect women's choices and not force their own moral beliefs on them.