I was nervous, didn’t intend to disrespect anyone: Ashwin

The audio launch of Enna Solla Pogirai that happened in Chennai on Monday, made the headlines for the wrong reasons. Actor Ashwin Kumar Lakshmikanthan, who rose to fame with a cooking reality show, became the centre of controversy after he said that he agreed to do Enna Solla Pogirai because he was awake right through the narration.

He also added that he had to refuse “40 films” previously because he dozed off half way through the narration. He added that if his fans would want to thank anyone for his good looks, it must be his parents. Towards the end of the audio launch, the director of the film Hariharan called Ashwin, a Superstar which didn’t go well with fans of Rajinikanth. Trolls put up several memes on social media that include comparison between Parasite director Bong Joon-Ho’s Oscar speech and Ashwin’s speech on the dais of his debut movie. We called up the actor to know what exactly was he thinking while speaking on stage, this is what he had to tell us

“I was absolutely nervous as this is my first big event. I hadn’t prepared any speech and was completely distorted by the love my fans showered on me. I didn’t intend to disrespect any of the directors, who narrated stories to me. I never imagined that my speech would backfire this bad. I understand the emotions behind it. However, it was unintentional.,” said the actor.

“I exaggerated the numbers. I haven’t listened to 40 stories before. We all come up with random numbers when we talk to friends or relatives. I shouldn’t have taken the same liberty on the stage,” he added.

“Yes. I feel like I was being targeted and this issue is totally being blown out of proportion. I am being a victim of hate by a few people whose films I turned down. They need to understand that it wasn’t out of disrespect,” Ashwin said.

“Hariharan too didn’t prepare his speech. We spoke like a group of friends. There can only be one Superstar and we all know who it is. I am not one,” he concluded.