At a Dude promotional event the other day, a reporter asked actor Pradeep Ranganathan whether he is "a hero material", a question to which his co-star Sarathkumar responded with a strong statement. Even as Sarathkumar threw his weight behind him, Pradeep painted a picture of calm during the event held to promote their upcoming film Dude. It would seem as if the actor is not new to such remarks. In a recent interview with Great Andhra, Pradeep opened up about being a victim of bullying and body shaming for a long time. Speaking to the publication, Pradeep said, "I have been hearing such things from my childhood. From childhood, they would tell me, 'I am thin', 'I am dark' and all those things. During Love Today also, I got bullied on stage."

The actor also compared such experiences to the process of getting used to wearing a shirt with stains. "If you buy a new shirt and it gets stained for the first time, you'll feel. But my shirt is full of stains," he said.

Pradeep is waiting for the release of his upcoming film Dude, where he stars alongside Mamitha Baiju. Recently, he called the Keerthiswaran directorial a small film with a strong social message. Scheduled for an October 17 release, alongside Mari Selvaraj-Dhruv Vikram's Bison, Dude also stars Rohini, Aishwarya Sharma, Dravid Selvam, and Hridhu Haroon, among others.