Anupamaa actor Sudhanshu Pandey has called out influencer Apoorva Mukhija, popularly known as The Rebel Kid, for her dismissive comment about veteran actor Ashish Vidyarthi on the reality show The Traitors. During a recent Instagram Live, Sudhanshu said he found her tone “highly inappropriate” and far from respectful.Referring to Apoorva’s remark—“Mujhe lagta hai Ashish jaayega” (I feel Ashish will be eliminated)—Sudhanshu questioned the casual manner in which she spoke about a senior artist. “Is he your childhood friend or what?” he asked bluntly.Sudhanshu takes on Apoorva’s tone about senior actorSudhanshu clarified that he wasn’t trying to vilify Apoorva as a person. “I’m not saying she’s a bad person. She’s a good kid. I’m sure she has a good heart too,” he said. “But jab aapki zubaan kharaab ho jaaye na, toh wo sab kuch kharaab kar deti hai.” (When your words turn foul, they ruin everything.)He explained that no matter how popular someone is, basic respect for senior professionals should not be compromised. “Everything else goes for a toss if you do not have the know-how about what to say, and how to speak, about people who are senior to you,” he added.Calls out Gen Z behaviour, cites his own kids as contrastSudhanshu also addressed the larger cultural issue of how Gen Z engages with elders, stating that such behaviour reflects poorly on the younger generation. “Please tell me—is this Gen Z? Is this what we think is cool? No, I’m sorry—this is not cool at all. I think this is the biggest bullsht, and it’s like a curse on our society,” he said in the Live.Drawing a parallel from his own family, he shared, “Even I have kids, and even they are Gen-Z and they are extremely respectful to other people. So I am sorry, I think there are a lot of problems.”Sudhanshu emphasised that Ashish Vidyarthi, whom Apoorva casually referred to, is a veteran actor and highly respected in the industry. “Ashish bhai is very senior to me as well. So, behind my back, she was talking about Ashish bhai, and saying, ‘Mujhe lagta hai Ashish jayega,’” he reiterated.
