Dunki vs Salaar: Venkatesh Maha deletes Twitter account after being accused of shading Prabhas, favouring SRK

Shah Rukh Khan's Dunki and Prabhas' Salaar are set to release in cinemas worldwide this week in what is being said the biggest clash in Indian cinema in the post-pandemic era. And its repercussions have begun even before the films could reach theatres as famous director Venkatesh Maha had to delete his Twitter account after he shared his excitement for Dunki.

Venkatesh, who has helmed critically acclaimed films like C/o Kancharapalem (2018) and Uma Maheswara Ugra Roopasya (2020), shared a snapshot of the ticket he had booked for the first day of Dunki. The Telugu filmmaker was accused of shading the Telugu actioner and favouring the Bollywood film as along with his ticket, he wrote, "All set for Dunki on the 1st day! Can't wait to see my favourite Shah Rukh Khan in Rajkumar Hirani's creative world! Heard there was a standing ovation at the Censor Board screening. If that is true, I believe it is going to be a roller coaster ride of emotions for all the film lovers!".

After Prabhas fans attacked him on the micro-blogging platform, the director even penned a clarification, which read, "Ok guys, calm down. I think you are mistaking a coincidence. I have no other intentions while writing my previous post than sharing my excitement for Dunki. I just got to know that the trailer of Salaar got released after your comments. Stop talking without knowing facts, guys."

"I am a big fan of Prabhas since his first film and I always wished to work with him. There were many instances I openly said it. I just watched the trailer of Salaar too and it looks amazing. Just don’t create a mess for everything and alter the facts. I told you not to do this just a few days ago, I think it is time for you guys to move on from me", he had written before deleting his Twitter account.

Venkatesh had indirectly slammed Salaar director Prashanth Neel's previous two blockbusters KGF starring Yash as earlier this year, he said in an interview to the famous Telugu entertainment journalist Prema, "In this movie I don’t want to name, I want to meet this utterly selfish woman who advises her son to amass wealth through whichever means. She wants him to rule the world. We celebrate the hero and laud his efforts when he builds narrow cubicles for people who dig up gold for him. He takes all that gold for himself. What are we telling our audience? Why is the audience making these films big hits?".

Also starring Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal, Anil Grover, Vikram Kochhar, and Boman Irani, Dunki will release in cinemas on December 21. Salaar, which arrives a day later on December 22, also features Prithviraj Sukumaran, Shruti Haasan, Jagapathi Babu, and Eeswari Rao. It will be interesting to see which film eventually wins this battle at the box office.

READ | 'Even if we get more screens...': Salaar producer Vijay Kiragandur on Prabhas-starrer's 'ugly fights' with SRK's Dunki