Bad Girl's Anjali Sivaraman Responds To Trolls Mistaking Her For Malayali: ‘I’m Tamilian’

Actress Anjali Sivaraman, who recently starred in Vetrimaaran’s production Bad Girl, addressed online backlash after a troll questioned both her casting and her ethnic background. Instead of responding with anger, Sivaraman used the opportunity to clarify her Tamil heritage.

On Saturday, Anjali shared a post on Instagram, explaining that she typically does not engage with online negativity but felt compelled to respond this time. She included a screenshot of a message from a troll, which questioned her suitability for the role and used abusive language, “You don’t even deserve this role. You’re a Malayali, what the f*** is Varsha thing… Worst wishes and good riddance. We don’t need you Malayalis in Tamil cinema, sick of you c***. Go beg in the Gulf.”

Responding directly to the claims, Sivaraman clarified, “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 added, “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.”

Anjali Sivaraman debuted in the 2018 web series PM Selfiewallie and later appeared in the Hindi film Cobalt Blue. She gained wider recognition for her role in the 2023 Netflix series Class, adapted by Ashim Ahluwalia from the Spanish show Elite. In 2025, she made her theatrical debut with Bad Girl and has yet to announce her next project.

Meanwhile, Bad Girl, directed by Varsha Bharath and produced by Vetrimaaran under the Grass Root Film Company with Anurag Kashyap, is a Tamil coming-of-age film. Sivaraman stars alongside Shanthipriya and Hridhu Haroon, and the film has received positive reviews since its release.

Debutant filmmaker Varsha Bharath had earlier responded to the criticism surrounding her Tamil film Bad Girl, insisting that the project has been misunderstood. The film, which stars Anjali Sivaraman as Ramya, faced intense scrutiny when its teaser was released earlier this year, prompting accusations and even a court order to take it down. Despite the storm at home, the film has found international recognition, including a win at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.

When Bad Girl’s teaser appeared online, director Mohan G alleged on social media that it depicted Brahmins negatively. The controversy escalated, and the Madras High Court directed the removal of the teaser from YouTube.

Varsha recalled the conflicting reactions she faced at the time. “A couple of days after my teaser came out, we premiered the film at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, where Bad Girl won the NETPAC Award,” she said in an interview with Hindustan Times. “While everyone back home was telling me I had made a trashy film…or a porno, I had the international audience at the festival and filmmakers appreciating it. It was a very disorienting experience for me. I wondered if I could’ve done something differently, but in hindsight, my objective was just to cut a cool teaser, so there’s no regret there.”

Bad Girl follows the life of Ramya, a teenager searching for the perfect boyfriend while navigating conservative family expectations, rigid social rules, and her own inner conflicts. Varsha said she made the film because she felt female coming-of-age stories were missing from Tamil cinema.