The legacy of legendary actor and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, lives strongly in the minds of Telugu audience. Known simply as NTR Sr, he enjoys a rare place in the history of Telugu cinema and politics. Naturally, any scene that appears to mock or disrespect the iconic actor can quickly become a sensitive issue among his admirers.
NTR fans slam ‘Korean Kanagaraju‘ scenes
The controversy erupted after a section of NTR fans objected to scenes in ‘Korean Kanagaraju’ featuring comedian Satya imitating the legendary actor. A video of the sequences surfaced on social media and soon triggered strong reactions. T. Prasanna Kumar, secretary of the Telugu Film Producers Council, said, “Legendary NTR’s fans were definitely hurt by the scenes in Korean Kanagaraju where Satya imitates NTR. It was unpardonable.” He also pointed to the immense respect NTR continues to command among Telugu audiences, recalling Rajinikanth’s famous admiration for the late actor. The backlash gained momentum particularly over the dialogue, “Your strokes are amateurish,” which some viewers felt crossed the line from comedy into mockery.
Varun Tej defends ‘Korean Kanagaraju’ scenes amid social media backlash
Actor Varun Tej has defended the controversial portions, making it clear that there was no intention to insult NTR. “Those portions were shot last November with the same dialogue. There is a huge difference between trolling and imitation. We only imitate great actors. We never intended to disrespect Sr. NTR,” he said at a press meet. Varun pointed out that actors are often imitated as part of comedy and recalled his own imitation of Pawan Kalyan in ‘F3’. “It’s only in a fun space. We imitate them only because they are great actors. We never had any wrong intentions. Social media reactions are not in our control. People are enjoying the scenes in theatres,” he added. Prasanna Kumar, however, felt the controversy could affect the film’s positive momentum.
About ‘Korean Kanagaraju’ cast, story and the controversy
‘Korean Kanagaraju’ features comedian Satya in a prominent role and uses his comic performance as one of the film’s major attractions. The movie blends comedy and entertainment, with several sequences built around popular references and celebrity impressions. While the makers have maintained that the NTR-related scenes were intended purely for humour, the backlash has highlighted how carefully filmmakers need to approach references involving legendary personalities.NTR’s legacy carries a lot of emotional value for Telugu audiences as such, and the debate around the film is bigger than just one comedy scene. With the discussion continuing online, the makers will be hoping the controversy does not overshadow the overall reception of the film.