Actor Preeti Gupta is in the headlines again. Earlier her upcoming film about a lesbian couple, Unfreedom, was banned and now she is in the middle of a bigger mess: this time, her nude images are leaked online.

She has now spoken up about the controversy, “It’s true that the actors are vulnerable, and I am actually very angry about it. It’s bizarre and a violation of privacy. It’s not cool, and if there is anything to be banned, it’s such kind of things.”

She auditioned for director Raj Amit Kumar’s film when she was studying in New York, but the film’s release has been restricted in India. “I find the ban very ridiculous, why should anything be banned? Don’t you trust the audience’s intelligence? One needs to watch the film to get the message, no? See, we are all adults and we should be given the choice to judge the content of a film. Homosexuality is very natural, what’s so different about it?”

She adds, “Unfreedom is a very significant film. There’re two stories, mine is one of them. It shows how homosexuality prevails in the lower class and middle class. Upper class may treat it differently, but for others it’s something completely unacceptable. It can easily trigger violence.”

She questions the intent behind the ban on Unfreedom. “I don’t understand why people are so scared of this film? We have made it with a purpose; we want to make a point through this. We need to sit and talk about it. If we ignore the context then it’s a pointless exercise. It should be released and people should watch this film.”

It was said that the leaked images were shot for Unfreedom. “Shooting such scenes needs dedication and discipline. It’s very challenging. The concept of the film made sense to me and that’s why we decided to show the truth of the situation. Ultimately, we were trying to recreate two hours of reality. Our intention is not to titillate but to show you the truth. It needs courage.”