The Nag Ashwin-directed movie Kalki 2898 AD has been one of the biggest Indian films this year so far.
The film starring a pan-Indian cast of Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, and Kamal Haasan in pivotal roles, has broken many box office records within just a month of its release by managing to collect over Rs. 1100 crores worldwide.
The story of the film is inspired by Indian mythology in a post-apocalyptic setting.
However, recent comments by Indian film actor Arshad Warsi, known for his roles in films like Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., Jolly LLB, Golmaal series and more, about the film and especially Prabhas have led to much controversy and debate.
What Did Arshad Warsi Say?
In an interview with Samdish Bhatia’s ‘Unfiltered’ series, Arshad Warsi spoke about Kalki 2898 AD, among other films.
(The actual part about Kalki 2989 AD starts at 2:34:23 timestamp.)
When Samdish asked the Bollywood actor which was the last bad film he saw, Warsi gave the name of Kalki 2898 AD saying, “Maine ‘Kalki’ dekhi, jo mujhe nahi acchi lagi. Mujhe bahut takleef hoti hai jab [I watched ‘Kalki’ and honestly, I didn’t like it a bit. It hurts me when…]… Amit ji was unbelievable. I can’t understand that man. I swear if we got the power he has, life ban jaye [our lives would be set]. He’s unreal.”
But going into the film itself and Prabhas’s role in it he said, “To mujhe on the whole, the film Prabhas, I am really sad, why was he… he was like a joker. Why? I want to see a Mad Max. I want to see Mel Gibson over there. Tumne usko kya bana dia yaar. Kyu karte ho aisa mujhe nahi samajh mein aata [What have you made of him? I don’t understand why they do such things].”
Read More: Is Karan Johar Becoming Too Sensitive To Criticism?
How Did Fans React?
Arshad Warsi’s comments did not go down well especially with Prabhas fans who mocked and spammed Arshad’s Instagram posts. Prabhas’s fans took over his Instagram profile and commented abuses, slurs and, many more trolling comments.
Prabhas Fans on Arshad Warsi’s Official Instagram Profile calling out slurs and abuses
byu/LongAccomplished1868 inBollyBlindsNGossip
One person wrote “A person who played joker whole life” while another commented on how Prabhas’s Kalki movie collection was more than all of Arshad Warsi’s movie collection.
One user also wrote “If one actor is playing a comedy role it doesn’t mean he is a joker. Were you sleeping in climax?! Or lost your eyes?”
While some defended Prabhas or stated that the character was not a joker, many commented on the actor’s posts with abuse and curse words.
In the Reddit post, one user commented “In a country where actors, cricketers, and politicians are worshipped, don’t be surprised…” pointing out the fan culture and how any criticism against such celebrities is usually met with the fans trolling the person.
Another wrote “This was bound to happen. That’s a lot of comments though” and how “All these so called fans are jobless duffers with no life of their own to live. Get a life…”
Commenting on the spamming of Arshad’s Insta posts one commented “If he (Arshad) said the same thing about Shah Rukh Khan or Salman Khan, he would still get the same response. No surprise here.”
Another wrote “Dude even SRK (Shah Rukh Khan), Salman, Ranbir Kapoor’s fans would do the same. We live in such a place where we literally worship celebrities, it’s honestly expected and not at all surprising…”
Not just the fans, but even people from the Telugu film fraternity have come forward to support Prabhas and condemn Arshad for his comments.
‘RX 100’ director Ajay Bhupathi writing on his X/Twitter page stated “Prabhas is the man who has given everything & will do anything to take Indian Cinema to the world audience, a Pride of our nation.
We can see the jealousy on the film, and him in your eyes just because you’ve faded out & no one gives an eye to you. There’s a limit & a way to express our opinion… Seems like you’re the one that you’ve said about him.”
Telugu actor Sudheer Babu also reacted to the controversy with Arshad’s comments, writing on his X/Twitter on 20th August “It’s okay to criticize constructively but it’s never okay to bad-mouth. Never expected the absence of professionalism from Arshad Warsi. Prabhas’s stature is too big for comments coming from small minds…”
Nani or Ghanta Naveen Babu, a Telugu actor has also spoken on this during a press event for an upcoming film Saripodhaa Sanivaaram.
As per reports, Nani said, “The person that you’re referring to, this must be the most publicity he has got in his life. You are unnecessarily glorifying an unimportant matter.”
Image Credits: Google Images
Feature image designed by Saudamini Seth
Sources: The Indian Express, The Hindu, Firstpost
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
This post is tagged under: Arshad Warsi, prabhas, telugu, Kalki 2898 AD, Kalki 2898 AD movie, Kalki 2898 AD review, Arshad Warsi prabhas, Arshad Warsi comments on prabhas, Arshad Warsi instagram, telugu film industry, Ajay Bhupathi, Sudheer Babu, nani
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