Filmmaker Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s brother and producer Pranay Reddy Vanga has openly challenged film critics to “kill” his upcoming film Spirit, following the lukewarm response to his recent production venture Romanchakam. The producer blamed reviews for contributing to the film’s poor reception and questioned the ease with which critics assess movies.

Pranay described film criticism as an “easy job”, contrasting it with the challenges filmmakers face during production. “If you get into production, you understand how hard the director works to execute what’s written and the kind of problems that arise during production,” he said.

He went on to suggest that film critics were able to “kill” Romanchakam partly because it was a smaller film, before throwing down a challenge over Spirit, which is being directed by his brother Sandeep Reddy Vanga and stars Prabhas.

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“They plucked feathers from a chicken egg. If they are really capable of doing something, let’s see when Spirit releases. We will see when it releases,” Pranay Reddy Vanga said.

When the host asked if he was essentially throwing down a challenge to film critics, Pranay agreed, adding that the team was confident about the outcome of Spirit.

Romanchakam, directed by Venu Gopal Reddy, stars Sumanth Prabhas and Ananthika Sanilkumar in the lead roles. The film received a lukewarm response from critics and audiences following its release.

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Meanwhile, Spirit has been one of the most anticipated films since its announcement, particularly after the success of Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal, starring Ranbir Kapoor. The film has already been surrounded by controversy following Sandeep’s public fallout with its original leading lady Deepika Padukone, who subsequently exited the project. Triptii Dimri has since replaced her, while Prabhas will headline the film.

With Spirit carrying considerable expectations, Pranay Reddy Vanga’s challenge to film critics has added another layer of anticipation around the much-awaited film.