TTD board member sends legal notice to Santhanam, Arya for devotional song in DD Next Level; seeks ₹100 cr and apology

TTD board member and BJP spokesperson Bhanuprakash Reddy sent a legal notice to Santhanam, Arya and the DD Next Level team.

Actor Santhanam’s upcoming horror-comedy film DD Next Level will be released in theatres on May 16. Two days ahead of its release, TTD board member and BJP spokesperson, Bhanuprakash Reddy, has sent the actor and producers, Niharika Entertainment, a legal notice for using the devotional song Srinivasa Govinda in the rap song Kissa 47 from the film. (Also Read: Kenishaa Francis' friend defends her relationship with Ravi Mohan in emotional post: ‘How vulgar people can be’)

Santhanam's film DD Next Level features Srinivasa Govinda in the rap track Kissa 47.

TTD seeks ₹100 crore compensation from Santhanam, movie team

Condemning the usage of Srinivasa Govinda in Kissa 47, Bhanuprakash told News18 Telugu that a legal notice has been sent to the producers and Santhanam. Condemning the usage of the song, he questioned, “Would they add songs from Christianity or Islam to a rap song? Why are only Hindu sentiments always hurt? We sent them a legal notice and have demanded an apology. If Srinivasa Govinda isn’t removed from the song both online and in the film, we will file a defamation suit and ask for ₹100 crore compensation.”

During the interview, the member also mentioned that in the future, no filmmaker should use devotional songs in films so casually and just get away with an apology when it’s pointed out that it hurts sentiments. “The censor board has also been sent a copy of the notice. They also need to be careful while giving certification to films. How did this go unnoticed by them?” he asked. 

For the unversed, Srinivasa Govinda is a popular devotional song about Lord Venkateswara, and it was used in a portion of the rap, which the TTD member took offence to.

About DD Next Level

DD Next Level, aka Devil’s Double Next Level, is the fourth film in the Dhilluku Dhuddu franchise. Directed by S Prem Anand and produced by Venkat Boyanapalli and Arya under Niharika Entertainment, the music for the film has been composed by OfRo. Santhanam, Geethika Tiwary, Selvaraghavan and Gautham Vasudev Menon play the lead roles.