Radhika Apte says she ‘hated everything’ about Legend, especially when her character married her much older uncle played by Balakrishna | Hindustan Times

Actor Radhika Apte has worked in only four Telugu films, and two of them were with Nandamuri Balakrishna. She has been quite vocal about facing patriarchy on sets while shooting in the South. In a recent interview, Radhika also spoke about how her most challenging role required her character to marry her uncle, played by a much older co-star.

Nandamuri Balakrishna and Radhika Apte in Boyapati Srinu's 2014 film Legend.Radhika Apte on marrying her uncle on-screenWhile promoting Akka with co-star Keerthy Suresh on Zoom, Radhika was asked about the most challenging role of her career. She replied, “There was a Telugu film I did where I had to marry my mama (maternal uncle). That was the most challenging role. Everything about it, I hated.” While Keerthy first looked surprised and later broke out laughing, she explained to the stunned host and audience, “It’s a very Tamil, Telugu thing where you marry your uncle.”

Radhika, however, interjected and added, “Yeah, but also, like, I had to romance a much older actor. It’s a very patriarchal situation and place. For me, that was the toughest thing. And then I die in the middle of it. He had to throw me (gestures over his shoulder) and then do action. I was like, when am I going to die?”

While the actor did not name the film, the scenes she describes reveal she’s referring to Boyapati Srinu’s 2014 film Legend. Her character in the film pursues her bava (mama’s son), rather than her uncle, which is also common in the Telugu and Tamil states. Balakrishna was 54 when Legend was released, while Radhika was 29.

Radhika debuted in Telugu in 2010 with Ram Gopal Varma’s Rakta Charitra films, which were also released in Hindi. In 2012, she starred in Prakash Raj’s Dhoni, which was technically a Tamil film and was also released in Telugu. After the 2014 film Legend, she acted with Balakrishna again in 2015 for Satyadev’s Lion. That was the last Telugu film she ever acted in.

Recently, while talking to Galatta, Radhika also called out colourism in the South Indian film industries. “Initially, I think the reason a lot of North Indian actresses were cast was because they were fair-skinned, and I find it appalling. Unless there is a project that there is a reason why it’s me, very particularly, why I wouldn’t do a South Indian film because I don’t deserve it,” she said.

Radhika most recently starred in Lust Stories 3 for Netflix. Her web series Akka is also streaming on the platform.

Despite having a Master's degree in Journalism and over a decade of experience in print and digital media as a field reporter and sub-editor at organisations such as The Times of India and Reader's Digest, Neeshita Nyayapati remains a movie buff first and a Chief Content Producer second. She fell in love with movies in childhood and believes nothing matches the magic of watching a good film that moves you with a warm tub of popcorn in hand. Her love for writing about cinema follows that. Come Friday, you'll find her at her happy place, the movies, catching the latest rom-com or masala offering, for reviews or otherwise. As for the rest of the week, she's here reporting the juiciest news in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi or bringing out the best of celebs in interviews. While her niche is Telugu cinema, Neeshita likes to dabble in a little bit of everything to stay up to date. From film announcements to scandals and hard news angles, she has explored it all. A good book, a comforting cup of hot chocolate, puppy kisses and a stunning beach view are all she needs to unwind. Her passion for biking and travelling has taken her to various places across the country. She has found peace in everything from the frozen lakes of Gangtok to the coffee plantations of Coorg and the dense forests of Bandipur, to the monasteries of Darjeeling. But no matter where she goes, Neeshita loves coming across inspiring and moving stories.Read More