Nani regrets lashing out against Arshad Warsi for his remark about Kalki 2898 AD turned Prabhas into a ‘joker’: “My choice of words was poor”

Telugu star Nani is in damage control mode after his comments about Arshad Warsi sparked a fresh controversy. Just a day after the trailer launch of his upcoming film, Surya's Saturday, Nani found himself trending online, but not for the reasons he'd hoped. The controversy stemmed from a journalist's question about Warsi's criticism of Prabhas’ role in the summer blockbuster Kalki 2898 AD. In a conversation on Unfiltered by Samdish, Warsi had expressed his disappointment with Prabhas’ portrayal, calling him a ‘joker’ and comparing him to Mad Max's Mel Gibson.

 

Nani regrets lashing out against Arshad Warsi for his remark about Kalki 2898 AD turned Prabhas into a ‘joker’: “My choice of words was poor”

 

Nani's initial reaction, as translated into English, seemed harsh. “The person that you’re referring to, this must be the most publicity he has got in his life. You are unnecessarily glorifying an unimportant matter,” he was quoted as saying. While this earned him cheers from Prabhas' fans, it drew criticism from Hindi film audiences who saw it as an insult to Warsi.

 

However, in an interview with Mid-Day, Nani clarified that his words were ‘lost in translation.’ He acknowledged his love for Prabhas and the natural instinct to defend him, but admitted his perspective shifted after watching the full video of Warsi's interview.

 

“I saw online when a language is translated into English, how it might sound. That happens on social media,” he explained. “I had only heard what he had commented because the cut clips were all over social media, like how mine was everywhere yesterday. See, it's about a very dear person. When it's about a person you really love, you immediately react and say, 'Why are you giving so much importance to an unimportant matter?' But after seeing a lot of reactions on social media, I went back and watched the whole thing in entirety. So, now I understand it. The whole thing has been blown out of proportion through media and social media. And even my reaction has been blown out of proportion.”

 

Nani emphasized the importance of actors choosing their words carefully when making public statements. “Arshad Warsi ji is a very good actor and we all loved him in Munna Bhai, not just north or south, but the whole of India. It's a household movie,” he said. “When we sit with our friends in our homes, we can rip films and actors apart. But being actors, we need to be extra careful with our choice of words. So, in that way, him and me, both are victims.”

 

The actor, referencing his upcoming film where the protagonist channels his anger on a specific day, offered a humorous analogy. “Like Surya's Saturday, we all need to have that one day when we react and not react the same day so that we can really gauge our words much better.”

 

Taking responsibility for his misstep, Nani readily admitted his regret.  “Definitely, my choice of words was also poor. The biggest thing that you can do is accept your regret. But what I am also saying is that it sounds so bad when it's translated. In this situation, the journalist was constantly trying to bring that question everywhere, and I was trying to say that they are giving it too much importance. Someone mentioned their opinion and there was reaction to it, that's how it started off. One comment from that or this side will be blown out of proportion. And if we slipped, it's high time we took responsibility, whether it's me or someone else. We have to go through this whole phase and only then move on because sometimes emotions are strong and you will react to something and you might feel, 'It was unnecessary, why did I react?'”

 

Nani acknowledged Warsi's right to express his opinion but suggested that perhaps different phrasing could have been used. “At the end of the day, what matters is that Kalki is a Rs. 1000 crores film. People love it. Of course it doesn't mean that you have to like it. We all have our opinions and everybody can share it and he (Warsi) has a right to share it but it can be with better choice of words. Also, who are we to correct? But somebody asked us about our opinion and we reacted to it.”

 

Looking beyond the immediate controversy, Nani emphasized the positive relationship between Bollywood and South Indian cinema. “I have been a big fan or directors and actors here and we have grown up watching their films. If you take social media, in Telugu cinema itself, fans fight with each other. Everyday you need a topic for a war. That's how they spend their time morning to evening. That's excitement for them. But let's stop taking social media wars seriously. When we meet each other, we don't think in terns of North-South difference. The maximum difference will be between our favourite food your (laughs). In fact, we want to know more about each other. Now, particularly, cinema is celebrated across. In 2024, there's Indian cinema and we are all like studios operating from different regions, making films in different languages and taking it to the whole of India. There's respect for each other and we express it whenever we get a chance. This has increased now. That's why I guess even a small thing triggers more because we didn't have this (exchange of love) earlier. If such things were happening every other day, no one would have cared about this one. But we have been seeing love for so long, so all these words become big news.”

 

He concluded, “Tomorrow, I might bump into Arshad Warsi ji and we might give a hug to each other.”

 

Arshad had said, “I am really sad. Prabhas was like a joker. I want to see a Mad Max. I want to see Mel Gibson over there. Tumne usko kya bana dia yaar. Kyun karte ho aisa? Mujhe nahin samajh mein aata (What have you made of it? Why do they do such things? I never understand).”

 

This has drawn ire from fans and industry people too. Though Arshad Warsi has refrained from reacting to the backlash.

 

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