2016: Weird Controversies That Amused Everyone

Tollywood had many a controversy this year - strange ones, genuine ones, high-profile ones, unsavoury ones, etc. If some of them involved superstars, there were also those which wouldn't have been generated but for the high-end manufacturing capacity of the media/social media! IndiaGlitz chronicles each of them. Read on..

The Cheppanu Brother controversy:

Unarguably the biggest controversy of the year, this one saw members of the Mega family dragged into it even as pressure was built by Pawan Kalyan's die-hard fans intensified for days. When Allu Arju refused to invoke Pawan's name at a 'Sarrainodu' success event, the fans lost no time to trend #ChoosukuntamBrother. Bunny saw himself explaining it to the fans at the audio function of 'Oka Manasu', fittingly in the presence of all the Mega family members barring Chiru and Pawan. On the other hand, those of us not amused by all this loved those #CheppanuBrother jokes on Twitter.

The Balakrishna controversy:

Balakrishna's speech at the audio function of 'Savithri' came in for criticism from a cross section of society. He words "Nenu ekkani yetthulu levu, choodani lothulu levu" apparently made in jest had the audience in splits then and there, but the MLA was later on slammed for the double entendre. His other line "Muddadali, leka kadupu cheseyali anthe" was deemed disrespectful toward the womankind. On his part, Balayya later issued a statement apologizing for any unintended offence caused.

The Floputsavam controversy:

While 'Brahmotsavam' was a damp squib from day one, what hurt many fans of Mahesh Babu was that it was mercilessly trolled on social media by the fans of rival heroes. But what shocked them the most was the fact that an English-language daily published an article reporting on the 'Brahmotsavam' memes that had been widely shared on social media. Mahesh's fans staged a demonstration protesting, what they called, an objectionable feature.

The Pawan Kalyan-NTR controversy:

A day before the release of 'Nannuku Prematho', Pawan Kalyan lodged a complaint with the Producers' Council against producer BVSN Prasad, alleging that his remuneration had been pending. This was perceived as a deliberate attempt to put a spanner in the release of NTR's movie. Hurt Nandamuri fans alleged that when their icon offered to help Prasad after half of 'Attarintiki Daredi' got leaked, Pawan didn't return the favour.

The Balayya-Chiru controversy:

The first edition of Lepakshi Utsavalu in Hindupur meant a controversy for TFI. Reason: Chiru was not invited and moreover, Balayya said 'Nenu evarini netthi meeda pettukonu!' Balayya words "I have with me those who add glamour. It's my wish to invite or not to invite someone. Many types of people would be ready to come if invited. But, this is my way of working, Dictator-style," drew the criticism of many.

The Allu Aravind controversy:

It was alleged by sections of pro-Mahesh Babu voices that Allu Aravind was obstructing the chances of 'Brahmotsavam' by abusing his control over a number of theatres. They said that the agenda was to make the sailing smooth for 'Sarrainodu' for some more days.

The 'A Aa' controversy:

Trivikram Srinivas kinda goofed up by not giving novelist Yeddanapudi her due. The alibi that the celebrated writer-director offered was even more strange. "There was a technical glitch which is why we couldn't give the credit," he said in the face of criticism. Of course, Trivikram's apologists did say that he did take the novelist's permission before going for the adaptation. On their part, however, Puri Jagannadh's fans didn't forget to talk about how their Dashing Director duly gave a novelist due credit for adapting her novel into 'Jyothi Lakshmi'

The Rashmi Gautami-Mega fans controversy:

Rashmi Gautam found herself at the receiving end of trolling when she shared a seemingly innocuous poster which claimed that the first day collections of 'Guntur Talkies' in Vijayawada were more than that of 'Dhruva'. Her caste was mentioned by a few and she found herself unfollowed by hundreds of Mega fans within hours.

The Pawan fan's murder controversy:

When a Pawan Kalyan fan was found murdered, allegedly by an NTR fan, in Karnataka's Kolar, many on social media slammed the Nandamuri actor for the silence. However, NTR conducted himself responsibly throughout. After keeping mum on the issue for a week, NTR clarified that he consciously avoided speaking up on the issue when he did not know the facts. He said that those who are extremist in their views are not his fans. Nevertheless, the controversy had had its field day.

The 'Janatha Garage' controversies:

Twice, 'Janatha Garage' got snubbed. First, an award was given away to 'Sarrainodu' for being the highest grosser of the year even as the NTR-starrer was playing in the theatres. This had NTR's fans making fun of the jury's decision. A few days later, the announcement that 'JG' would be telecast on TV even before it ran for 50 days drew the ire of many fans, who opined that family audiences' enthusiasm to watch it in theatres might have been severely affected by the ads.

The Rave Party controversy:

When it was reported that Navdeep and some mini-celebs were caught in a police raid while indulging in a rave party, the actor hit out at the media, saying that "writing s**t is your bread and butter .. You should be excused! Cool bro , go find your other news of the day!" He further said, "Elago veedi meedha chaala unnay kadha, inkokati vesedham, jana

Tollywood had many a controversy this year - strange ones, genuine ones, high-profile ones, unsavoury ones, etc. If some of them involved superstars, there were also those which wouldn't have been generated but for the high-end manufacturing capacity of the media/social media! IndiaGlitz chronicles each of them. Read on..