Popular Bollywood actor Arshad Warsi, who has worked in films like ‘Munnabhai M.B.B.S.’, ‘Dhamaal’ and ‘Jolly LLB’, is surrounded by controversies these days. Arshad recently gave an interview in which the public liked him a lot for speaking fearlessly and in a real way.
In this interview, apart from his life and journey, Arshad also talked about the working methods of the film industry and his words are being liked by the public. But one of his statements became the reason for controversy. Arshad said that he did not like Prabhas’ latest blockbuster ‘Kalki 2898 AD’. While talking about the film, Arshad used the word ‘Joker’ with Prabhas, due to which the stars of the Telugu industry became angry with him.
Telugu stars like Nani and Sudheer Babu have criticised Arshad and Prabhas’ fans have also started following him on social media. But did Arshad really call Prabhas a joker? Was this a big issue for Telugu stars to react so strongly to it? Probably not. Let us tell you why…
what did Arshad say?
In a conversation with YouTube channel Unfiltered with Samdish, Arshad was asked if he had seen a big film recently that he did not like. In response to this, Arshad said, ‘I saw Kalki, I did not like it.’ However, Arshad seemed very impressed with Amitabh Bachchan’s character in ‘Kalki 2898 AD’. But he did not like the treatment of Prabhas’ character.
He said, ‘Amit ji is unbelievable in that. I don’t understand him at all, I can’t understand him. I swear, if I get a little bit of the power that he has, my life will be made. Overall, I didn’t like that movie. Prabhas… I am very sad to say this, but why did he… he looked like a joker. Why? I want to see ‘Mad Max’ (Hollywood film) in that situation. I want to see Mel Gibson (Hollywood actor) there. What have you made him (Prabhas) like, friend… I don’t understand why you do this.’
It was clear from Arshad’s statement that he was talking about Prabhas’ character in ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ and he did not like the treatment of this character, Bhairav. Arshad’s statement is actually a criticism of the film’s writer and director Nag Ashwin for treating Prabhas’ character like a ‘joker’. But Prabhas fans and Telugu stars took it as Prabhas being called a ‘joker’.
Telugu stars strongly criticized Arshad
Nani, one of the biggest stars of Telugu cinema, reacted very sharply to Arshad’s statement. According to the Indian Express report, he said at an event, ‘The person you are talking about has got the most publicity in life from this (comment on Prabhas). You are unnecessarily glorifying an unnecessary thing.
Before Nani, young Telugu star Sudheer Babu had written a post on social media criticizing Arshad. He wrote on X, ‘It is one thing to criticize in a constructive way, but it is not at all to criticize. Arshad Warsi was never expected to lack professionalism. Prabhas is too big for comments coming from small minds.’
Not only this, Telugu director Ajay Bhupathi, calling Prabhas the ‘pride of the nation’, said that he sees ‘jealousy’ for Prabhas and his film in Arshad’s words because he himself is ‘disappearing and no one looks at him.’ Prabhas has a strong social media following. Soon Prabhas’ fans started trolling Arshad over the comments of the stars of their industry.
Telugu star Vishnu Manchu, who is coming up with his first pan India film ‘Kannappa’, went a step further. He has written an official letter to Poonam Dhillon, President of Cine and TV Artists Association (CINETAA), complaining about Arshad’s comments. In his letter, Vishnu wrote that ‘Mr. Warsi’s statement has hurt the sentiments of the Telugu film community and fans.’ Vishnu has demanded from Poonam Dhillon that Arshad Warsi should be asked to refrain from making such comments in future.
Criticism of Prabhas in ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ is not new
Nag Ashwin’s film was definitely liked by the public and that is why it has become one of the biggest films of India. But many people were upset with the fact that Prabhas’ character was made to do comedy in the film. Before Prabhas appears in the Virat avatar in the climax of the film, his character’s attempts to do comedy and his jokes were making the film slow. This has been criticized in many reviews of the film and there is a whole thread on the social media platform Reddit about it.
In this thread, a user pointed out the problem with the comic angle of Prabhas’ character, Bhairava, and wrote that ‘When the film goes from a very sad death scene to Prabhas’ character, there is a huge shift in the tone of the story. But this is not his (Prabhas’) fault, but the question is why the director kept such scenes back to back.’ Another user said, ‘I also said the same thing, I felt that an attempt was made to make him more ‘goofy’, which should not have been done.’
This Reddit thread is not new, but more than a month old. And it has at least fifty comments that systematically criticize the treatment of Prabhas’ character in ‘Kalki 2898 AD’.
A few days ago, ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ has been released on OTT as well and after watching it, many users are now agreeing with Arshad Warsi. After watching the film on OTT, a user wrote, ‘Arshad Warsi did not say anything wrong. He did not like Prabhas’ character and it should be criticized. Prabhas looked literally like a joker in ‘Kalki’, all the cringe scenes came his way.’
While another wrote, ‘Watched ‘Kalki’ on Netflix today. The film is average. But I agree with Arshad Warsi sir, Prabhas is like a joker in the film.’
‘Kalki 2898 AD’ actress also criticized Prabhas
Not only social media users and film critics, ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ actress Ana Ben herself also criticized Prabhas’ character in the film. Ana, who played the role of Kaira in ‘Kalki 2898 AD’, shared a review of the film on her Instagram story, in which his work was praised.
But in the same review, there was also this line that ‘There were some moments in the first half that could have been avoided and this would have made the film a classic. Unnecessary comedy in which Prabhas was trying to be funny (too cringeworthy) and there is a song sequence that does not fit with the feel of the film.’ However, after seeing the anger of Prabhas’ fans, Anna removed this story. But the pictures of this story are still present in the posts of many users on Reddit and X.
Perhaps Telugu stars should have watched Arshad Warsi’s interview themselves instead of reacting to what he said. If they had watched it, they would have understood that this is not a personal criticism of Prabhas, but a criticism of the way his character has been treated in the film. And if this is the responsibility of one person, then it is of director Nag Ashwin, who can change this thing in the second part of the film ‘Kalki 2898 AD’.
Source (PTI) (NDTV) (HINDUSTANTIMES)