Vishnu Manchu, the actor in the eye of a storm over the poor depiction of Brahmins in his latest flick Denikaina Ready, on Wednesday asserted that his movie had nothing against the community and claimed that a particular individual was stirring the hornet’s nest.
In an interview with City Express, he said, “I just returned to Hyderabad and am yet to look into the matter completely. But I would like to say that this film does not show Brahmins in a bad light or in a derogatory manner.” Commenting on the case booked against his father and veteran actor Mohan Babu, the film’s director Nageshwar Reddy and himself, he said if a case had to be filed, it had to be against him and not his father.
“My father is technically not the producer of this film. This film has been produced by the company 24 Frames Factory, and I am its managing director. So, if a case has to be filed, it should be against me, because technically I am the producer of this film,” he pointed out. He also said Denikaina Ready was a Telugu remake of a Malayalam film. And Vishnu claimed they had made the film exactly like the Malayalam version except for a few changes to suit contemporary audience.
“It’s a remake of an old Malayalam film and has been made exactly like the original. If people didn’t have a problem then, I don’t understand the problem people have now. Furthermore, this film has been released in two other states apart from AP, and the Brahmin communities in those states have not protested. I don’t understand the problem,” he wondered. The movie was released in Karnataka and Kerala as well.
Hinting at the hidden hand of an opponent, Vishnu said, “I will look into the matter seriously and take action. I know the person who is doing this and we will look into it and come out with the name soon. They don’t realise that they’re playing with the sentiments of the community.” In a defiant mood, the actor-producer was thankful to the protesters. “I should probably thank them because they brought my film around Rs 1-2 crore worth of publicity,” he joked.