Actor Anjali Sivaraman, who recently headlined Bad Girl, a Tamil coming-of-age drama produced by Vetri Maaran and Anurag Kashyap, has responded to a troll who hurled casteist and racist abuse at her online. The hate comment, which questioned her identity and her casting in the film, prompted Anjali to step in and clarify her Tamil roots.

In a video shared on her Instagram stories, Anjali addressed the incident directly, saying, “You know, for anyone who’s confused, I am Tamilian. My name is Anjali Sivaraman. If you do a simple Google search, you’ll realise I am Tamilian. My mother is Chitra Iyer, who is Tamilian. My father is Vinod Sivaraman, who is also Tamilian. My entire family is Tamilian. Yeah, I don’t really speak Tamil, but I understand it perfectly.”

She went on to add, “I grew up in an English-speaking household. My father was in the Air Force, so we moved around a lot, and English was just the common language that we grew up speaking. Before you go around making your baseless judgements on a person and calling them some pretty horrific names, you really should do your research because you look so stupid.”

Earlier, Anjali had shared a note on her Instagram story explaining that while she usually avoids calling out individuals online, she felt compelled to speak up this time. The actor also posted a screenshot of the hateful message she received, a long rant filled with slurs and offensive remarks about her skin tone, ethnicity, and her association with the film.

Directed by Varsha Bharath, Bad Girl follows the journey of a young woman navigating complex emotions, relationships, and societal expectations. The film features Anjali alongside Shanthipriya and Hridhu Haroon and was presented by Vetrimaaran’s Grass Root Film Company.

Anjali, who began her acting career with the 2018 web series PM Selfiewallie, went on to star in Cobalt Blue and gained wide recognition for her role in Netflix’s Class (2023), adapted from the Spanish hit Elite. Bad Girl marks her big-screen debut in Tamil cinema.