Isha Koppikar, Kangana Ranaut, and Kunal Kapoor (r) at the launch of the short film ‘Dont Let Her Go’ in Mumbai, Aug. 10. (Press Trust of India)

Kangana Ranaut slammed author Shobha De, Aug. 10, for her tweet on Indian Olympians at Rio and said the comment was “disheartening.” – @Siliconeer #Siliconeer #Bollywood #KanganaRanaut #ShobhaDe #India #2016RioOlympics #2016IndianOlympicsTeam #IshaKoppikar #KunalKapoor #DontLetHerGo #PradeepSarkar #AmitabhBachchan #BigB

Shobha De had mocked Indian athletes, saying that their aim was only to click selfies and return without any medal. Her tweet angered many who slammed and trolled the writer.

When asked to comment on the matter, Kangana told reporters, “It is a very disturbing thing to say to people, who are representing us. It can be also a very personal opinion but being such a credible author and a powerful woman who people look up to, for someone like that saying this is disheartening…”

The 29-year-old “Tanu Weds Manu Returns” star hopes the athletes do not get disheartened and do their best.

“It is not a good news, for sure. I hope our athletes don’t get disheartened and we need to do our best.”

The actress was speaking at the launch of a short film on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, titled “Don’t Let Her Go.”

De received backlash from several quarters. Following the criticism, she came up with another tweet, putting the blame on officials and not the athletes.

Kangana Ranaut at the launch of the short film 'Dont Let Her Go' in Mumbai, Aug. 10. (Press Trust of India)
Kangana Ranaut at the launch of the short film ‘Dont Let Her Go’ in Mumbai, Aug. 10. (Press Trust of India)

“Official apathy main reason why we fare so poorly during every Olympics, not just Rio. Difficult for athletes to ‘compete’ with this hurdle,” she tweeted.

The “Tanu Weds Manu Returns” star said she was extremely lazy and hated taking baths.

“I was really lazy, and hated taking a shower. My parents were fed up. Honestly, nothing good ever happened in my life during that phase. I didn’t make friends, no opportunities came my way,” Kangana told reporters.

“Then I read a lot about elements, composition and energies. I got to know that energies are of three types, one of them being cleanliness which is the most superior type. It is the truth.”

Kangana features in the movie as Goddess Laxmi.

The “Queen” actress said her life changed after she adopted these techniques.

“I studied Vedanta, followed Swami Vivekananda. I learnt how to uplift myself, uplift energies and make changes. It has various factors, external and internal cleanliness.

“I started with external cleanliness… It is a basic exercise. When I started adopting that, things started changing in life. Now, I take shower, stay clean and make sure I don’t litter. I haven’t littered for the past 12 years.”

The short film, directed by Pradeep Sarkar, also features Isha Koppikar and Omkar Kapoor with voice over from Amitabh Bachchan.