Daily Times

Indian singer Sona Mohapatra called out Bollywood superstar Salman Khan after his comments, defending the 31-year age gap between him and his heroine Rashmika Mandanna, in ‘Sikandar’.

For the unversed, Salman Khan, 59, recently addressed the age gap with his ‘Sikandar’ leading lady Rashmika Mandanna, 28, during the trailer launch event of the film on Sunday.

Taking a swipe at the social media trolls and critics, Khan said, “Phir woh bolte hain 31 years ka difference hai heroine aur mujh mein, arrey jab heroine ko problem nahi hai, heroine ke papa ko dikkat nahi hai, tumko kyun dikkat hai bhai? (Then they say there’s a 31-year age gap between me and the heroine. But if the heroine has no problem, and even her father has no issue, why do you have a problem, brother?)”

Moreover, he had also quipped, “Inki shaadi hogi, bachchi hongi, toh unke sath bhi kaam karenge. Mummy ki permission toh mil hi jayega (When she gets married and has a daughter, I will work with her daughter too. Her mother’s permission will be sorted).”

The statement not only left the netizens divided but has also irked singer Sona Mohapatra, who slammed the ‘Tiger 3’ star in an X post and labelled him as ‘bhai(brother) of toxic masculinity’.

Taking to her handle on the micro-blogging site, she posted on Monday, “Heroine aur heroine ke ‘BAAP’ ko koi problem nahin hai (if the heroine and even her father have no issue)’.. to jab inki shaadi ho jaegi (When he will get married) &.. ‘permission’ like garbage response on being asked about the out of context 31-year gap with his leading lady.”

“The ‘BHAI’ of toxic masculinity, patriarchy doesn’t realise that #India has changed?” asked Mohapatra further.

Notably, Khan stars opposite Mandanna in his upcoming Eid release ‘Sikandar’, also featuring Kajal Aggarwal, Anjini Dhawan, Prateik Babbar, Sharman Joshi and veteran actor Sathyaraj.

The AR Murugadoss action entertainer is scheduled to arrive in theatres on March 30.