Yash starrer KGF 2 is one of the highest-grossing films of all time in the history of the Indian film industry. While the period action drama has garnered immense love across the globe, Telugu director Venkatesh Maha garnered controversy and criticism for abusing Yash’s character Rocky bhai from the KGF franchise.
While speaking at a ‘Women’s Day Special Interview’ along with other directors Shiva Nirvana, Mohan Krishna Indraganti, Nandini Reddy and Vivek Athreya, he shared his thoughts on the topic of formulaic films.
Speaking about the plot of KGF 2 and Yash’s character, Maha said, “I won’t name the movie, but in it, the mother asks for some quantity of something (gold). The hero goes and liberates people who work there (the KGF mines). In the other part (KGF: Chapter 2), all that gold [is drowned by Rocky]. Is he not a ne*ch kam*ena kutte (a term that translates to ‘lowly dog’). There were thousands of people (KGF workers), he could have built houses for them, but he throws the rest of the gold. A mother asks someone to become such a lowly dog-like person [who drowns the gold instead of distributing it among workers], and we (audiences) are clapping for that kind of a story.”
He further suggested that he and other filmmakers on the panel can also make a commercial film like KGF but they are not doing that since they want to make movies which show their integrity and values.
His harsh words garnered immense criticism from the Telugu audience as well as from Yash and Prashanth Neel fans.
Later talking to TNM, he apologised for his harsh words but said that he still stands by his opinion as he has all rights of expression. “Being in the position of a responsible filmmaker, I should not have used such language. But I stand by my opinion, and I have the right to express it. I am not taking it back,” said Maha.
He added, “If my language has hurt anyone, especially fans of that character (Rocky from KGF) as well as fans of my work, I apologise. It was a momentary emotion, but I have not crossed my limits or used any abusive words. There are also people who like my opinion. Although it’s an unpopular opinion and the supporters are small in number, it is still significant.”
The filmmaker shared a video on social media on Monday that the inappropriate terms he used were from a film (Chiranjeevi’s Rowdy Alludu). “I didn’t say it to insult a particular industry, it was a discussion about films in general. I apologise for the language, but the discussion that the opinion started has to be taken into consideration,” said Maha.
He added, “My intention was to say all kinds of films must be loved equally. My remarks were not intended towards a particular real-life person, I abused a fictional person. But now I, a real person, am being abused terribly and my [inappropriate] images are being created. I hope you repect my opinion, and respect all kinds of films.”
For the unversed, Venkatesh is known for helming films like C/o Kancharapalem and Modern Love Hyderabad.
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