Taking to Twitter, the actor wrote about how the statement is untrue and has been “fabricated”. She also added that she has always respected all film industries and has nothing against regional films. “Some fabricated and misconstrued content about me bad mouthing south films is doing the rounds on social media. I request whoever has been doing it to PLEASE STOP. I have utmost respect towards each and every language/film that I do. Let's be kind (sic),” she wrote.

The interview in question was the one given to Bollywood Hungama, in which Khanna spoke about how she was often body-shamed for being overweight. “I think the worse is just that initially when I...actually I have been lucky with the roles I've got...but probably necessarily relating to my weight, because they used to say I am a gas tanker and stuff like that in the South when I started and I don't say anything because I was quite big for the mainstream that they have. And I did become fitter in time, not to please anybody, but because I know that the job requires that,” she was quoted as saying.

However, memes about the actress being ungrateful to the film industry that had given her work started doing the rounds. The actor made her Bollywood debut with the 2013 Hindi film ‘Madras Café’. The actress was last seen in the web series 'Rudra: The Edge of Darkness', alongside actor Ajay Devgn.