Shruti Haasan about her new single Monster Machine: "It's the opposite of everything I've catered to before this"

Shruti Haasan has released a new single titled Monster Machine, which she calls the celebration of the dark feminine energy.

By: Entertainment Desk

Chennai | October 26, 2023 01:01 PM IST

3 min read

Shruti Haasan in Monster Machine

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Actor-singer Shruth Haasan has released a new song, titled ‘Monster Machine’, which according to the description ‘is a dark feminine cry of self-love and an uninhibited need for the kind of bespoke love the woman of darkness needs.’ In an interview with Galatta Plus, Shruti spoke at length about the song, calling it the opposite of everything she has done so far, and saying that musically, she is more talented than her father, Kamal Haasan.

When asked what the song is about, Shruti said, “Basically, if you’ve seen the video, there is a reference to the archaic draconian concept of witchcraft and being burnt at the stake. I think the stakes have changed over the years. And there are very many women with small fires, who are still being burnt at some metaphorical stake. And I think we’ve had many examples of those. And the stakes change. And in the video, I’m trying to play four different characters that represent different women… I read this quote, which just stayed with me forever. It said ‘We are the granddaughters of the witches you couldn’t burn.’ It was something that really hit me. It’s a lineage and a hereditary jewel that we carry as women.”

She added, “And so, when I was thinking about the monster, women, when they say a corporate woman or when they say the modern woman or she’s lost her values, it’s another kind of burning at the stake. Because we have to adapt to the environment we’re in. And that adaptation sometimes means we’re called a monster. There are many adjectives for it. ‘Chudel’, monster, the B-word. Right. Whatever you want to call it. But it’s about harnessing this power and turning it into a machine-like, almost like the Terminator. So that’s why I called it ‘Monster Machine’. It’s about those women and those men who encourage those women to turn it into a force of channelled, focused energy.”

Shruti was asked how she sustains herself in the film industry, which often celebrates the opposite of what she stands for. “Because it’s roles I’m playing. I’m never playing Shruti. Actually, recently I played Shruti in a movie, which was weird. But like, I’ve never actually played myself. So I’m playing a part. So that’s the whole fun of the not fun time of my career was… don’t wear black and don’t say that.”

Shruti Haasan said that people told her not to be herself as it would confuse the audience. However, it doesn’t bother her anymore. “Because, I’m acting in Salar, I’m acting in The Eye, but I am going to also be this Shruti from ‘Monster Machine’. Yes. And if you can’t deal with it, that’s your problem,” Shruti said.

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