The Internet loves to dissect scenarios and find parallels in situations. The recent hot topic on social media platforms like Reddit and X is this particular scene from “Laapataa Ladies.” People are speculating that director Kiran Rao devised that scene to take a jibe at the controversial director Sandeep Reddy Vanga.

The Scene

In Laapataa Ladies, when Phool Kumari (Nitanshi Goel) was left behind at a station, Manju Maai (Chhaya Kadam) reluctantly took her in. She told Phool that her husband could have left her behind at the station on purpose even as the latter defended him. During their discussion, Manju talked about her marriage and told Phool that her husband would beat her. Manju said, “A man who loves you has the right to beat you. One day, I exercised my right as well.”

This dialogue has led many to believe that it is a dig at Vanga, who had previously defended a controversial slap scene in his film ‘Kabir Singh,’ with a similar statement in the 2019 Film Companion interview. The ‘Animal‘ director had said, “If you can’t touch your woman, wherever you want, and if you can’t slap, you can’t kiss, you can’t use cuss words. I don’t see the emotion there.”

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Kiran Rao & Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Diss History

This is not the first time Rao and Vanga have been in the spotlight together. Sandeep Reddy Vanga and Kiran Rao have exchanged critical commentary, both indirect and direct, primarily over his films. In November 2023, Rao criticised the glorification of stalking in Bollywood, indirectly referring to ‘Kabir Singh‘ as an example. She called out certain films for blurring the line between stalking and wooing, without naming them.

In a 2024 interview with Dainik Bhaskar, Vanga slammed Kiran Rao’s comment. He said “Today morning, my AD showed me an article. It is of the second ex-wife of a superstar. She is saying that films like Bahubaali 2 and Kabir Singh promote misogyny and stalking. I think she does not know the difference between stalking and approaching. When people read these things out of context, they tend to agree. This is entirely wrong.”

Kiran Rao Sandeep Reddy Vanga Laapataa Ladies scene internet X Reddit diss

Sandeep dismissed Kiran’s concern with whataboutery, referencing her ex-husband Aamir Khan‘s 1990 film Dil. “I would like to say to that woman, ‘Go ask Aamir Khan, ‘Is she like a pillar, a girl, or a firecracker?’ What was that? Then come back to me. If you remember Dil, he almost creates the situation towards an attempted rape, and it makes her realise that she was wrong. She ultimately falls in love. What is all this? I don’t understand why they attack like that before checking the surroundings,” said Vanga.

Kiran Rao, however, denied specifically targeting Vanga’s films and stated she had not seen his film ‘Animal‘ at the time.

Netizens React

Taking the ‘Laapataa Ladies‘ scene, netizens on X think the dialogue was a dig at Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s ideology of love. Sharing screenshots of the said scene, an X user wrote, “Kiran Rao bodied Sandeep Reddy Vanga.” Another said, “I see what you did there, Kiran Rao (sic).” Sharing a post on Reddit, a person asked, “A direct slap on Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s face?” Many reacted to it.

A direct slap on Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s face?
byu/hampiness inBollyBlindsNGossip

One Redditor wrote, “That is exactly what I thought when I saw this scene!” Another commented, “Didn’t Rashmika Mandanna’s character slap Ranbir Singh’s Ranvijay multiple times in Animal? I think for Vanga, slapping or hitting is part of love, man or woman doesn’t matter. And I agree, its not correct either way.”

Some also disagreed with this scene targeting Vanga. One Redditor wrote, “I don’t think so. It’s a very common belief in our society. The film does a good job at showing mirror to society and if you have roots in Village you would relate more with the movie.”

What do you feel about this? Let us know in the comments below!