Kamal's ‘banana’ joke about Trisha stirs criticism online

Kamal Haasan, Trisha Krishnan, and Silambarasan TR have been actively promoting their much-anticipated film

Thug Life

, directed by Mani Ratnam. During a recent promotional event, a light-hearted exchange between Kamal and Trisha triggered

mixed reactions

from netizens.
During a media interaction, Trisha was asked about her favourite food. She responded, “I like eating them all, but I like boiled banana more. What’s it called?” She was referring to

pazham pori

, a popular South Indian banana fritter. Kamal promptly reminded her of the name and followed it with a cheeky remark: “She doesn’t know the name but likes putting it in her mouth.”
Trisha laughed off the comment, and moments later, Kamal lightly tapped her on the knee, seemingly to indicate that it was made in jest. The brief moment was captured on video and has since been widely circulated on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
However, the remark drew backlash from some users online. One user reacted with, “Eww eww eww,” while another questioned, “Toxic Kamal?” drawing parallels to a previous controversy involving Trisha. Some users sarcastically wondered, “Imagine if Chiranjeevi had said that,” while another commented, “18+ Dawww.”

Despite the criticism, Kamal’s fans defended the veteran actor. “The filth lies in the mind looking for dirt. @ikamalhaasan quipped, as he has many times, about fellow actors’ Tamil. Nothing offensive,” one fan wrote. Another user argued, “What is double meaning in this? Clearly, it’s visible that KH meant it in a comic way, but the words he chose were wrong. He then realises it and pats Trisha to make the situation less awkward – and kudos to the host for changing the topic.”

Thug Life also features Ashok Selvan, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Joju George, Abhirami, Nassar, Ali Fazal, Pankaj Tripathi, Sanya Malhotra, Rohit Saraf, and Vaiyapuri in significant roles. The film is set for a theatrical release on June 5.