Vijay Deverakonda slams trolls claiming they'd rather watch Rajinikanth's Jailer 2 over his Ranabaali: ‘They're paid, it's manufactured hate’

Rahul Sankrityan's Vijay Deverakonda- and Rashmika Mandanna-starrer Ranabaali is releasing in theatres on October 16, clashing with Jailer 2.

The trailer for Rahul Sankrityan’s Ranabaali, starring Vijay Deverakonda and Rashmika Mandanna, was released on Thursday afternoon. Before the launch, the actor spoke to the press in Hyderabad and answered a few questions. When asked about the ‘hate’ he receives online, Vijay reacted strongly, wondering whether he must change himself to please trolls. He also brought up the clash with Nelson Dilipkumar and Rajinikanth’s Jailer 2. (Also Read: Ranabaali trailer: Vijay Deverakonda vows to save his village from British-made famine; gets playful with Rashmika Mandanna. Watch)

Vijay Deverakonda spoke about online hate at the Ranabaali trailer launch.

Vijay Deverakonda questions if he must change himself for trolls

Vijay reacted strongly when asked about the trolling he faces online. He gave a pause before asking, “Should I stop because someone thinks my dreams and hard work are unnecessary? Should I start acting because someone thinks my honesty comes off as arrogance? Should I step back because someone thinks my self-confidence comes across as pride? If they cannot digest my journey, must I sit at home?” The actor then added, “I won’t change; they’re the ones who need to. I wish people concentrated on bettering themselves for their families. I enjoy success stories a lot.”

Calls out ‘manufactured hate’ over Ranabaali vs Jailer 2

Vijay then stated that whatever he faces online isn’t even ‘hate’ because he believes trolls are being ‘paid’ to target him. “First of all, we can’t even call it hate. Because 90% of it is manufactured. There’s a batch that drops Reels at a time that they’d rather watch Jailer 2 over Ranabaali, despite it being a Telugu film,” he said, addressing the chatter around the clash with Jailer 2. He also added, “People can have opinions, but if you see the same opinion everywhere, it’s manufactured. What they must understand is that the attacks they’re paid for today, AI will do tomorrow. No one can stop it. The person paying them will stop.”

Vijay also questioned why social media isn’t being used for betterment, saying, “Use social media to promote and better things. What is the point of using it to bring down someone? But that’s the world we live in, what to do?”

About Ranabaali and Jailer 2

Jailer 2 and Ranabaali are releasing just a day apart, on October 15 and 16. Both films will be released in all South Indian languages and Hindi, though they’re originally Tamil and Telugu, respectively. Expectations are high on both films, and it remains to be seen how they fare at the box office. Jailer 2 is a sequel to Nelson’s 2023 hit Jailer. Rahul and Vijay previously worked together in the 2018 film Taxiwaala.