Harish Shankar apologised after a tweet about Ustaad Bhagat Singh seemingly challenging Mahesh Babu’s box-office records sparked backlash. The director said he had not read the tweet fully and clarified he holds immense respect for the superstar
Harish Shankar and Mahesh Babu
Director Harish Shankar, who is gearing up for the release of his film Ustaad Bhagat Singh starring Pawan Kalyan, recently landed in controversy over a post he made on X. The director appeared to respond to a tweet suggesting that his film should break records set by Mahesh Babu’s films. However, the post triggered angry reactions from the superstar’s fans.
Following the backlash, Harish Shankar clarified that he has immense respect for Mahesh Babu and said he believes many records will be created by the actor’s upcoming film Varanasi. He also issued an apology to the actor’s fans.
What did Harish Shankar say?
The issue began on Tuesday when Harish Shankar was responding to fans on social media about his upcoming film Ustaad Bhagat Singh. He replied to a tweet that urged his film to surpass records set by Mahesh Babu’s films. Without reading the tweet completely, he quoted it and wrote “Thadastu,” which translates to “So be it.” The reply did not go down well with Mahesh Babu’s fans, who quickly expressed their displeasure.
Within a minute of posting it, the director realised his mistake and deleted the tweet. He later issued a statement apologising for the error.
Harish Shankar, whose film Ustaad Bhagat Singh is scheduled to release on March 19, explained the circumstances that led to the incident. He said, “Yesterday was a very busy day. I had a meeting with board officials after the censor process, visited Peddamma Temple to seek blessings, took care of post-production work, did the final checks for the song promo, and completed a round of promotions before heading to Thaman S’s studio for the background score.”
He added, “During this time, I was also replying to journalists, well-wishers and fans who appreciated the promo and were sending their wishes. In that rush, I only partially read a tweet and quoted it unintentionally. Within a minute, my team alerted me and asked me to read the tweet completely. I immediately realised the mistake and deleted it.”
Harish Shankar says he respects Mahesh Babu
The director further said, “I have immense respect for Superstar Mahesh Babu garu. In fact, I have always believed that many records will be created under his name with Varanasi. This was an unintentional mistake with absolutely no intention of hurting him or his fans. You can even check the tweets I posted on his birthday about Pokiri to understand the love and respect I have for him.”
He concluded, “However, if that brief moment caused any hurt to people’s feelings, I sincerely apologise from the bottom of my heart. For a film to create records, it needs the love and support of fans from all heroes and families alike. I have enough common sense not to post such things when my film is releasing in just 10 days. Once again, please accept my sincere apologies for this unintentional mistake and continue to support our film. Thank you for your understanding.”
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