Rashmika Mandanna has spent years being praised for her cheerful, expressive personality — and being trolled for exactly the same thing. Now, the actor has made it clear that she has no intention of becoming less warm or enthusiastic simply because some social media users describe her behaviour as “overacting.”
During a conversation with Keerthika Govindhasamy while promoting her upcoming film Ranabaali alongside Vijay Deverakonda, Rashmika was asked about people questioning whether her friendly public persona is genuine. Her answer was straightforward: “Personally, I feel that kindness is not weakness.”
Rather than trying to convince everyone that her personality is authentic, Rashmika appears comfortable accepting that some people simply will not like it.
“I choose to be like this, and I am very happy being like this because this is just me,” she said.
Rashmika says she isn’t performing kindness for cameras
The criticism Rashmika was responding to is not particularly new. Her enthusiastic interactions, emotional reactions and friendly behaviour at public appearances have periodically been labelled “cringe” or “overacting” on social media.
Rashmika said she deliberately chooses positivity because there is already enough negativity around her. She also rejected the idea that she is putting on a performance to please audiences, explaining that behaving this way makes her and the people close to her happy.
That makes her latest answer less of a sudden comeback to trolls and more of a continuation of something she has been saying for some time.
In August 2025, Rashmika similarly discussed how kindness could be interpreted as fake once someone becomes a public figure. She spoke about dealing with trolling and negative PR and argued that people should simply “let people breathe” rather than constantly tearing others down online.
More than a year later, the language has changed slightly, but her position has not: she would rather risk being called excessive than reshape her personality around online commentary.
Vijay Deverakonda says some trolling is ‘manufactured’
Vijay Deverakonda also joined the conversation and offered a different explanation for why strong negative opinions about celebrities can spread so quickly.
He argued that “a lot of the trolling across politicians and actors is manufactured,” questioning how people can develop intensely personal opinions about someone they have never actually met.
His point was not that every criticism of a celebrity is coordinated or artificial. Rather, he suggested that social media makes it possible for relatively small groups of accounts to amplify a particular narrative until it begins to look like a much broader public consensus.
That distinction matters in Rashmika’s case because the criticism is not primarily about one film, performance or professional decision. It concerns whether her personality itself is somehow too enthusiastic to be believable — something that cannot really be established from short clips or public appearances.
Rashmika’s response avoids getting trapped in that argument. Instead of trying to prove her kindness is genuine, she is essentially saying that she knows why she behaves the way she does, and that is enough.
The conversation comes as Ranabaali nears release
The remarks arrive during promotions for Ranabaali, which reunites Rashmika and Vijay on screen. Directed by Rahul Sankrityan, the period film also stars Arnold Vosloo and is scheduled to arrive in theatres on October 16, 2026. Mythri Movie Makers’ official teaser confirms the cast and release date.
For Rashmika, however, the discussion around kindness highlights a separate challenge of celebrity culture: when someone’s personality becomes part of their public image, even ordinary behaviour can begin to be judged like a performance.
Her response suggests she has stopped worrying about winning that particular argument. People can call it kindness, overacting or something in between. Rashmika says she is not changing it for them.
