‘My food, my choice’; dragging community angle was upsetting, says actor Daali Dhananjaya

Bengaluru: Kannada actor Daali Dhananjaya has expressed strong displeasure over the controversy surrounding his food habits, stating that personal choices were unnecessarily given different angles and dragged into community-related debates.

Addressing a press conference on the issue of consuming non-vegetarian food, Dhananjaya said there was nothing wrong with him eating non-veg, but questioned why caste and community angles were being brought into the discussion. “If I say I eat non-vegetarian food, that should be okay. Why bring caste into it? Dragging the names of other artists into this issue was also very upsetting,” he said, asserting that food choices are purely personal.

The actor clarified that he has never hidden his lifestyle choices. “Earlier, I used to party and smoke, but I have stopped that now. I love seafood, and that is my personal preference. Giving different interpretations to this and pulling community into it was completely unnecessary and disappointing,” he said.

Dhananjaya also stated that he does not like discussing his food or eating habits publicly. “I innocently visited my friend’s hotel and ate there with affection. I have opened around 10 to 15 biryani outlets myself. I never imagined that such a simple act would be picked up and turned into a major discussion. Seeing the kind of debate it sparked was shocking for me,” he added.

He further made it clear that he does not want to specify where the meat he consumed came from, as that would only fuel further debate. “If I start explaining that, it will feel like I am responding to people who deliberately started this controversy, which I don’t like. I never eat with labels. Whatever I do, many questions come up, and I have learned to live with that,” he said.

Speaking about his professional journey, Dhananjaya said he entered the film industry as an actor and has now also started producing films. “I may not be a producer who has made hundreds of crores, but I have given many films to the industry and continue to struggle and work hard for cinema. I don’t understand why discussions are not happening about the work I do for the industry,” he remarked, adding that he wishes conversations focused more on his contributions to cinema rather than his personal life.

Reacting sharply to the way some of his statements were interpreted, he said, “When I speak about children from poor backgrounds growing and celebrating relationships, people twist those words to suit their own narratives. Everyone has the freedom to talk about any subject. Just because someone is a film actor doesn’t mean they should talk only about certain topics. Is it right that even what I eat becomes a subject of public debate?” he asked.