Zoya Akhtar may be delving into the slums of Mumbai for her next, Gully Boy but does that mean that she gets the people living there? As you must be knowing, Gully Boy is inspired by the lives of rappers DIVINE and Naezy who made it from the slums to hogging the headlines with their songs. Ranveer Singh plays the lead in the film, that also has Alia Bhatt playing his love interest. Gully Boy is releasing on February 14, having had its world premiere at Berlinale Film Festival 2019. Gully Boy Review: Even the Foreign Critics Are in Praise of Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt’s Film.

Coming back to Zoya, recently in an interview to Mid-Day, she called both DIVINE and Naezy as 'hardcore feminists'. While that is nothing to feel offended about and is to be seen as a compliment, what she said next feel a little offensive to those who don't get the context. Zoya added, "I don't think they know the word. But it's in the way they talk about women, and also in the way they don't talk about them. There is also no cynicism in them, and they are all about making a change." Gully Boy Azadi Song: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt’s New Track Reveals the Angst of Today’s Youth – Watch Video.

Naezy tweeted the article with the caption, "We are hardcore feminists and we don’t know the word. Okay".

His tweet may not show it directly, but it is easy to assume that Naezy is not very happy with the description. He, however, later tweeted that she may have meant that "we don't label it as feminists or feminism but it shows in our words and actions. She knows us very well, I think we’re good".

His followers aren't very happy with Zoya's statement, though, as they slammed the director on Twitter.

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While Zoya's statement may feel like elitist at first, like Naezy pointed out, she may not have meant to take a dig at their educational qualification. Instead, her statement may have been taken out of context. But it is hard for people to decipher what's the real meaning there.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 11, 2019 09:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).