RGV defends Allu Aravind over 'Who was Yash before KGF' remark, calls backlash 'ridiculously laughable'

Filmmaker backs producer in row over 2023 remark

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has come out in support of producer Allu Aravind amid a controversy over Aravind's 2023 remark, "Who was Yash before ", which resurfaced on social media. In a series of posts on X, Varma called the backlash "ridiculously laughable" and said the statement was being taken out of context.

Aravind's comment, made in 2023 during a discussion on rising film production costs and star remuneration, was part of an argument that a film's scale, visual spectacle and production values play a major role in its success. The remark gained fresh attention after Yash's mother, Pushpa, made comments that led users to draw a connection between the two.

Varma's explanation

In his posts, Varma wrote: "The controversy regarding #AlluAravind's statement regarding #Yash is ridiculously laughable because what he clearly meant when he talked about big films with unknown actors and saying he didn't know of Yash before KGF, even a dumbo should understand that it was in the context of the below."

Varma elaborated that Aravind was highlighting how films can turn actors into major stars, rather than depending solely on an actor's existing popularity. He cited examples from Indian cinema, noting that Hindi audiences were largely unfamiliar with Prabhas before Baahubali and with Rishab Shetty before Kantara.

"The Hindi audience didn't know Prabhas before Bahubali, they didn't know Rishab before Kantara, I didn't know Brando before Maybe he was a star before in his films A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront I don't know if they released in India also... That's because those films made them big stars and not the other way around," he wrote.

Drawing a comparison with Hollywood, Varma cited Marlon Brando, suggesting that an actor may be known within an industry but a successful film can take them to a much larger audience. He also referenced filmmaker Christopher Nolan, writing: "Even directors like Nolan use names only for their acting prowess and not to depend on their We all know whether it's Oppenheimer or Odyssey, they would work as much irrespective of who's in it."

Criticism of backlash

Varma criticized those who took Aravind's remarks personally, writing: "It's only highly egotistic people who will take his statement personally on such a general well meaning Actually this kind of reaction also explains why they are making what they are making."

His posts prompted speculation among some social media users that he was taking an indirect dig at Yash. One user asked, "You have been attacking Yash nonstop but he is not reacting to you, why?" Another questioned, "Did Yash reject any of your scripts?"