For the last couple of days, Kantara hero Rishab Shetty has been the hot topic on social media. His Hyderabad speech, delivered mostly in Kannada with only a little broken Telugu, did not go well with the audience and quickly backfired. Trolls flooded online platforms, and some even raised boycott slogans. Realizing the damage, Rishab made sure to correct things at the Vijayawada event. He explained that Telugu and Kannada are like sibling languages and as a Kannadiga he always respects other tongues. He admitted the problem was not disrespect but simply his lack of fluency.
Rishab then promised that by the time his next film Jai Hanuman comes out, he will speak much better Telugu. Looking at Mythri Ravi, he gave his word on stage, which instantly won applause from fans. He also thanked Prabhas for releasing the trailer, Jr NTR for supporting the Hyderabad event, Pawan Kalyan, and Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu for standing by the film. Unlike the Hyderabad event where he spoke long in Kannada, here in Vijayawada he kept his words short and mostly in Telugu to avoid another round of criticism. This clearly showed how much he took the trolling to heart.
Now all eyes are on Kantara Chapter 1 which begins its premieres within a day. Advance bookings started a little late due to theatre issues, and distributors are debating whether the promised 10 PM premieres will happen as planned or face last-minute cancellations. With huge expectations, high ticket rates in AP, and mixed reactions from a section of the Telugu audience, the film enters the race with both hype and pressure. Only if the content exceeds expectations will Rishab Shetty’s vision turn into the blockbuster everyone is waiting for.
Related