Telugu directors offer apologies to KGF lovers

HYDERABAD: C/o Kancherapalem director Venkatesh Maha stirred a controversy the other day by making foul statements against the super hit film KGF. His statements didn't go well with the people and they started criticising and trolling him on social media.

It all started with a web show where Venkatesh Maha participated in a discussion with other directors like Nandini Reddy, Vivek Athreya, Mohana Krishna Indraganti and Shiva Nirvana. During the discussion, Venkatesh Maha made rude comments against KGF and called the film's hero's character a 'neech kameen kuthe'. The other directors, except Shiva Nirvana, were seen laughing at his comments.

The video went viral on social media. Netizens started trolling Maha and criticized other directors for allegedly enjoying his comments. Due to these comments, all those directors had to offer an apology on social media.

Nandini Reddy apologised by writing, "Every Commercial film which has become a success is because the audience has loved something in that effort. The conversation was never meant to deride anyone's work but rather have a positive debate on what can diversify the narrative of commercial cinema. Apologies for any offence caused."

Vivek Athreya also issued an apology by writing, "When you are listening to a conversation or being a part of a conversation for hours, you will react to the way how it goes and sometimes may get carried away, in the interview which was telecasted yesterday I was just reacting to the way it was told, it was neither intentional to hurt anyone nor their work, Be it a commercial film or any kind of film, belittling or demeaning someone’s work does not fall under my intentions or ethics truly, In that case, if I hurt anyone intentionally or unintentionally, I apologise."

Mohana Krishna Indraganti stated that his intention was not to degrade KGF. "Regarding the Interview with Prema in which my reaction to Venkatesh Maha’s critique of 'KGF2' hurt many fans, I would like to categorically state that mine or the other panel members’ intention was not at all to degrade or denigrate the film or the actor or the makers. I strongly believe that people have every right to love or dislike a movie for various reasons," he wrote.

"While all of us have our own different opinions of the film, we were mostly reacting to Venkatesh’s critique and its intense language. However, I do believe it didn’t belong to the topic of discussion and should have been excised. My sincerest apologies to all the admirers of 'KGF2' if my reaction conveyed any form of denigration, which was never the intention of mine or others on the panel," he further added.

Finally, Maha also issued an apology for his comments. He said that the language he used was wrong but his intention behind making those statements was genuine. He apologised for his language but not his views. He said that films of all budget categories should be treated equally by the audience and have to be shown equal love as well. "I hope you respect my opinion and respect all kinds of films," he went on to say. Let's see if this controversy ends here or not.