In a recent interview, director Rohit Shetty fielded questions about his upcoming film Sooryavanshi. Asked about a scene featuring the four main leads, Rohit said his attention on the monitor was focused on the male stars — namely, Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh, and Ajay Devgn. He went on to add that Katrina Kaif, who is also featured in the frame, requested a retake for blinking during the bomb blast in the scene. Rohit, however, chose to go ahead with the take, telling Katrina ‘no one is going to look at you.’

The filmmaker’s comment came in for criticism on social media. Netizens accused him of sexism, trending ‘Shame on you Rohit Shetty’ on Twitter. 

Katrina, who essays Akshay’s wife in Sooryavanshi, took to Instagram to clarify her stance on the issue. She wrote that Rohit’s statement had been taken out of context and that he was being misunderstood. She further explained that the filmmaker had, in fact, agreed to do one more take as per her suggestion. 

Katrina wrote: "Dear Friends and well-wishers, I normally do not comment on media reports or articles. But in this case, I feel a comment made by Rohit sir, has been taken out of context and has been entirely misunderstood. I am referring to the reports that Rohit Shetty said no one would look at me in the frame, as there are three boys there and a blast happening. This is not what was said. I mentioned that I had blinked in the shot, and Rohit sir said, 'There are four people together in the frame and a bomb blast happening, no one will notice you blinking.' In spite of that, we still did one more take."

She went on to add, "I share a very warm equation and friendship with Rohit sir and have always enjoyed our discussions on everything from cinema to my character, and more importantly, he has always been there as a friend for me. This has been taken entirely out of context."