Arshad Warsi had found himself at the center of controversy after his honest review of Prabhas‘ performance in director Nag Ashwin‘s blockbuster film Kalki 2898 AD. The actor had referred to Prabhas’ portrayal as that of a ‘joker,’ which sparked strong reactions from fans and a heated debate within the actors of South film industry. At a recent award function, Arshad broke his silence about the online backlash he faced following his comments about the Baahubali star.
Arshad said his remarks were about the character Bhairava, played by Prabhas in Kalki 2898 AD and not the person. He called Prabhas a ‘brilliant actor’, adding that people today like to interpret noise.
“Everybody has their own point of view and people like to interpret noise. I spoke about the character, not the person. He is a brilliant actor and he has proved himself again and again, and we know about it. And, when we give a bad character to a good actor, it’s heartbreaking for the audience,” Arshad told PTI.
Last month in an episode of the Unfiltered by Samdish podcast, the Munna Bhai star was asked to name the last bad film he watched and he said it was Kalki 2898 AD. While Arshad was all praise about megastar Amitabh Bachchan‘s performance in the pan-India movie, he said he was sad that Prabhas was like ‘a joker’ in the blockbuster movie.
Following his comment, members of the Telugu film fraternity, including actors Nani, Sudheer Babu and director Ajay Bhupathi slammed Arshad saying that the latter could have chosen his words better.
Nani Speaks Out: What He Really Meant About The Arshad Warsi-Prabhas Controversy
In addition, Arshad said he is happy that industries of different languages are coming together to make movies. “The blurring of language barriers should have happened a long time ago. I really feel enraged when someone uses terms like Bollywood or Tollywood. I have corrected many people many times, I told them this is the Indian film industry.”
He added, “We all are in it together. My competition is with the rest of the world, it’s not with each other… Like when I direct a film one day, I’d like to cast everybody, no matter where (industry) they come from. Language is immaterial.”
When asked to share an update about Munna Bhai 3, Arshad teased, “There are talks, it may happen.”