Ram Gopal Varma weighed in on the controversial statement of veteran Telugu producer Allu Aravind regarding Kannada superstar Yash, which has found a new lease of life on social media following the underwhelming opening of the latter’s new tentpole, Geethu Mohandas’ gangster thriller Toxic: A Fairytale for Grownups.

Varma defends Allu Aravind’s remark on Yash

“The controversy regarding #AlluAravind’s statement regarding #Yash is ridiculously laughable because what he clearly meant when he talked about big films with unknown actors, and saying he didn’t know of Yash before KGF , even a dumbo should understand that it was in context of the below,” wrote RGV on his X handle on Tuesday evening.

He then argued that the Hindi audience didn’t know Prabhas before his pan-India breakthrough with SS Rajamouli’s 2015 action fantasy epic Baahubali: The Beginning, which amassed over Rs 500 crore at the domestic box office. Prior to that, the actor had already starred in Telugu hits like Sobhan’s 2004 action romance Varsham, Rajamouli’s 2005 action film Chatrapathi, A Karunakaran’s 2010 romantic comedy Darling, and Dasaradh’s 2011 romantic film Mr. Perfect.

Story continues below this ad

Ram Gopal Varma drew another parallel with how nobody in the Hindi audience knew Rishab Shetty before his pan-India breakthrough with 2022 Kannada action thriller Kantara, which amassed over Rs 550 crore at the domestic box office. He was already a popular Kannada star, having delivered hits like 2016 rom-com Kirik Party, Jayatheertha’s 2019 crime comedy Bell Bottom, and Raj B Shetty’s 2019 neo-noir gangster film Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana.

Rishab Shetty in Kantara: Chapter 1.

“I didn’t know Brando before Godfather. Maybe he was a star before in his films A Street Car Named Desire, On The Waterfront etc. I don’t know if they released in India also,” argued Varma. He referred to late legendary Hollywood actor Marlon Brando, who was already a star with hits like Elia Kazan’s 1951 Southern Gothic movie A Streetcar Named Desire and 1954 crime drama On the Waterfront. But his global breakthrough came only with his memorable performance in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 seminal gangster film The Godfather.

“That’s because those films made them big stars and not the other way around. Hollywood always spends big on concept films and not on stars. Even directors like Nolan use names only for their acting prowess and not to depend on their stardom. We all know whether it’s Oppenheimer or Odyssey, they would work as much irrespective of who’s in it,” added RGV.

The filmmaker demonstrated his point of Hollywood greats relying on acting chops instead of star power by quoting the instance of Christopher Nolan, who delivered a massive hit ($1.34 billion and counting) with his action adventure fantasy epic The Odyssey this year as well as with his 2023 period thriller Oppenheimer (over $983 million). While the former featured A-list stars like Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, and Tom Holland, the latter had a less popular star Cillian Murphy play the titular role.

Story continues below this ad

“Coming back to the subject of Allu, it’s only highly egotistic people who will take his statement personally on such a general well-meaning thought. Actually, this kind of reaction also explains why they are making what they are making,” concluded Varma.

What did Allu Aravind say about Yash?

Allu Aravind made the remark about Yash a few years ago. He claimed that nobody knew the actor before he had a pan-India breakthrough with Prashanth Neel’s 2018 Kannada period action film KGF: Chapter 1, which amassed over Rs 185 crore at the domestic box office.

Yash responded to Aravind’s claims during a recent promotional event of Toxic.

Story continues below this ad

“It’s true. But I also believe that cinema doesn’t just belong to a producer. So many people work in cinema, but only the actor gets credit. Be it a character artiste or a writer, everyone works hard in cinema, but if an actor is not able to carry it, the film will not work. I feel the audience is right; sometimes I wonder why the actor wins all the love. And I truly believe that the audience is never wrong. They respect everyone and are aware of who deserves to earn more respect,” Yash said on Aap Ki Adalat.