Rana Daggubati breaks silence on Vettaiyaan Telugu title controversy, mentions Devara
Rajinikanth starrer latest film Vettaiyaan recently faced protests over its Telugu title. The film’s actor Rana Daggubati and producer Suresh Babu held a press conference in Hyderabad to address the issue.
Actor Rana Daggubati recently commented on the Vettaiyaan title controversy at an event. The actor referred to Jr NTR’s latest film, Devara: Part One, which released in the Telugu and Tamil markets with the same title. Rana underlined the importance of watching good cinema, whatever it is called.
At a recent press meet held in Hyderabad, Rana and members of Suresh Productions, which is co-distributing the film, addressed the ongoing controversy. Speaking to the media, the popular Telugu actor said, “Cinema has no language, no boundaries. Depending on the story, a film can go anywhere.” He highlighted how Vettaiyan is a different film, and offers a never-seen-before experience to fans of superstar Rajinikanth.
Addressing the issue further, Suresh Babu emphasized the pan-India appeal of the film. He noted the growing trend of dubbing films in multiple languages and the importance of the theatrical experience. Babu questioned the reaction and said, “If Avatar is Avatar in all languages, and Titanic is Titanic in all languages, no one questioned it. But if Vettaiyan is Vettaiyan, why are people objecting?”
The producers of Vettaiyan, Lyca Productions, had earlier planned to title the Telugu dubbed version as Vettagadu. However, due to unavailability of the title, they decided to keep the title the same for all versions – Vettaiyaan: The Hunter. In its recently released statement, the production house explained that this choice was made to effectively capture the original meaning of the film while maintaining continuity in the dubbed versions.
The title controversy led to calls for a boycott of the film in the Telugu market. In his statement to the media, Telugu writer Abburi Ravi expressed concern over the producers taking the Telugu audience for granted. In response, producer Dil Raju defended the film, saying that audiences should evaluate films based on their quality rather than the title.
He said, “There are many advantages of having a single title. Whatever be the title, if it is good then the audience will watch the film. Treat the film as a film. TJ Gyanvel, who has made great films like Jai Bheem, has also made this film brilliantly. This film will be released on the occasion of Dussehra. Everyone will enjoy it as a family.
Vettaiyaan was released on 10 October. Apart from Rajinikanth, Amitabh Bachchan, Rana Daggubati, Manju Warrier, Fahadh Faasil and Ritika Singh are also in important roles. The film is directed by TJ Gnanavel.
