SKN, who produces Baby, recently caused an online controversy following his remarks during the Tamil Dragon event that went viral. The producer’s statement praising non-Telugu heroines over Telugu heroines soon became the buzz all over social media.
While addressing the function for the Tamil dubbing of Dragon, SKN said, “Here, we prefer non-Telugu girls over Telugu girls. Because I came to know later what will happen if we anchor Telugu girls. That’s why I have decided to anchor non-Telugu girls from now onwards. Along with me, my director Sai Rajesh also desires the same.” These lines created a storm of responses, with several wondering why a Telugu cinema producer would make such a statement, particularly in the context of encouraging opportunities for local heroines. Some went further to assume that the remarks were directed at Baby heroine Vaishnavi Chaitanya.
In the wake of the mounting outrage, SKN tried to downplay the scandal with a smile, posting on social media, “Hahaha. People are liking controversy more than entertainment these days, Guruji. Let me know what we are going to do.” This light-hearted attempt failed to satiate the debate, however, as netizens reminded everyone that SKN has been instrumental in launching some of Telugu cinema’s most promising young actresses such as Rashmi, Anandi, Priyanka Jawalkar, and Vaishnavi Chaitanya.
The outrage has once again brought to fore the issue of Telugu female actors in industry, questioning how much scope these actresses have for opportunities. This is a controversy that is keenly watched for further reactions of SKN as well as the other important characters involved.