Actors Rana Daggubati and Teja Sajja, both well-known personalities of Telugu cinema, recently courted controversy with their jokes about Mahesh Babu at the IIFA Utsavam. During the launch of his talk show, Rana addressed the issue and clarified that the jokes were never meant to hurt anyone.

At the trailer launch event of rana daggubati showThe actor was asked about the controversy that followed his comments at this year’s IIFA Utsavam. Laughing at this, Rana said, “These days I am being misunderstood. Nani once told me in the show (her talk show, in an episode), ‘When you make a joke you should give a disclaimer because Nobody understands it.’ Maybe I should start doing that—start running a scroll every time I make jokes.”

Teja Sajja, who won rave reviews for her performance in the film Hanuman and hosted IIFA Utsavam with Rana, also addressed the controversy at an event. He clarified that whatever the artistes say during the award show is scripted.

“A lot of script writers work on something before it comes to us (hosts). Whatever you see is edited; no one will mind if they watch the entire clip. Rana joked with me too. I have worked with all these heroes since childhood, and I am close to all of them, I wouldn’t even think of letting anyone down,” said Teja.

Earlier this month, a Video of Rana and Teja from IIFA Utsavam Came out on social media. In the video, Rana made a witty comment on the Sankranthi clash between Teja’s Hanuman and Mahesh Babu’s Guntur Karam and compared their film journeys. Babu’s fans did not like the comparison of industry veteran actor Mahesh Babu with young hero Teja Sajja, who made his first superhit film.