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The Raja Saab director Maruthi apologises to Jr NTR fans for comments at song launch: ‘Never my intention to hurt’
At the song launch event, Maruthi sparked backlash for his indirect comments on Jr NTR. He later apologised to fans and said he never intended any disrespect.
The Raja Saab director, Maruthi, sparked backlash for his comments at the film's song launch event on Sunday. Prabhas skipped the event, but his fans flooded the Vimal 70 MM Theatre in Hyderabad for the launch of the song Rebel Saab. (Also read: Prabhas fans wait for over 2 hours for Rebel Saab song launch, SKN apologises for delay and says: ‘There was a glitch’)
What did Maruthi say at the event?
At the event, Maruthi spoke about Prabhas' fandom and made indirect hints at ‘raising collar’, which triggered many fans of Jr NTR. The raising collar has become a signature gesture for fans of Jr NTR, who have displayed the love for the actor during pre-release promotions of films like Devara and War 2. Director Maruthi said that Prabhas has worked very hard on the film and doing an introduction song after many years. I won't say anything like you'll raise your collar after watching this because it's too less for someone of Prabhas' stature, he said.
His apology
Many fans of Jr NTR called out the director on X for taking an indirect dig at fans to promote his own films. Maruthi took note of this backlash and said in a post on X, “Felt like clarifying this personally. First I sincerely apologise to every fan. It was never my intention to hurt or disrespect anyone. Sometimes in the flow of words things come out differently from what we truly mean and I regret that it was received in the wrong way or as a comparison.”
He went on to add, “I have immense respect for NTR garu and for all his fans. I truly value the love you carry for cinema and for your hero. I wanted to clarify this with complete honesty and from the heart… and I hope you understand the situation and the intention behind it.”
At the event, fans waited for over 2 hours for the song launch. The song was released and shown on the screen inside the theatre after a long delay. With music by Thaman, the Telugu version of it is sung by Sanjith Hegde and Blaaze, with lyrics by Ramajogayya Sastry. The Hindi version is written by Kumaar, with Sanjith’s vocals switched out for Sachet Tandon’s. The song was also released in Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada.
The Raja Saab is written and directed by Maruthi and produced by People Media Factory and IVY Entertainment. The film was officially announced in January 2024, although filming began in 2022. It is now scheduled for release in theatres on January 9.
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