Akshay Kumar has been getting trolled in the past couple of days for something he had said nine years back. In an interview to TOI in 2012, Akshay Kumar asked about Sonakshi Sinha and Asin, with whom he had worked then in Rowdy Rathore and Khiladi 786 respectively. In his reply, he praised the actresses, especially Sonakshi, and how they looked, but then went on to say that he prefers his heroines 'hari bhari'. He also went on to add that 'Chusa hua aam na lagey! (they shouldn't look like sucked up mangoes).' Akshay Kumar’s Old Quote Comparing His Heroines With Mangoes Is Going Viral Right Now!

Someone dug up this old quote of his and it has been going viral. Twitterati is making jokes based on Akshay Kumar's question about mangoes to PM Narendra Modi during that much-trolled interview of the Prime Minister during the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. Since 2014, Akshay Kumar has been working hard to keep his social image pristine clean, so this blast-from-the-past quote is something Akshay and his team don't need right now. As if, jokes on his Canadian nationality isn't enough! After Accepting to Be a Canadian Citizen, Akshay Kumar’s Old Video Calling ‘Toronto Is My Home’ Goes Viral.

Anyway, Hindustan Times got in touch with Sonakshi Sinha about this quote, and she was ready to defend her co-star, who recently starred in the Rs 200 crore hit Mission Mangal.

She said, "Let me start by saying that trolls really have nothing better to do in life, so this is what they resort to. People have to understand that I was heavily body shamed at the start of my career, in spite of having lost 30 kilos, and what Akshay said was probably in response to something on the same lines. They also have to understand that I have a great friendship and working equation with him, so he was talking about a friend and not a random person. If anything, he was being a gentleman and defending me with no intention of “objectifying” anyone."

She went on to add, "And if I, the person being referred to, has absolutely no problem with what was said, I don’t think anyone else should either. People need to start utilising their time better rather than digging up stupid things and making an issue of it." Sonakshi should know how it feels in being at the receiving end of the trolls, when she was recently trolled for not knowing a question on Ramayana in an episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati. Sonakshi Sinha Funny Memes Take Over the Internet After She Fails to Answer a Simple Question on Ramayana in KBC 11.

It is good to see Sonakshi come out in defence of Akshay, though that still doesn't put him the right to make fun of girls who aren't, in his words, 'hari bhari'. But again, it has happened nine years back and Akshay's views on heroines, and how they should look, would have changed. So it is time for the trolls to let bygones be bygones.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 17, 2019 08:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).