Sudheer Babu, Ajay Bhupathi criticise Arshad Warsi over comments on Prabhas' role in 'Kalki 2898 AD'

NEW DELHI: Actor Sudheer Babu and director Ajay Bhupathi have called out Hindi actor Arshad Warsi over his remarks that Telugu star Prabhas was made to look "like a joker" in the film, saying there's a way to express an opinion and bad-mouthing anyone isn't okay.

Last week, Warsi was asked in a podcast what was the last bad film he watched and the "Munna Bhai" star said it was "Kalki 2898 AD".

While the actor was all praise about megastar Amitabh Bachchan's performance, he said Prabhas was like a joker in the blockbuster movie, a comment that didn't go down well with fans as well as the Telugu film fraternity.

Sudheer Babu, known for Telugu film "Sammohanam" and Hindi movie "Baaghi", said he never expected the "absence of professionalism" from Warsi.

"It's okay to criticize constructively but it's never okay to bad-mouth... Prabhas's stature is too big for comments coming from small minds (sic)" the actor wrote on X on Tuesday.

Bhupathi, popular for directing Telugu film "RX 100", accused Warsi of being jealous of the "Baahubali" star.

"#Prabhas is the man who has given everything & will do anything to take Indian Cinema to the world audience, a Pride of our nation. We can see the jealousy on that film, on him in your eyes just because you've faded out & no one gives an eye to you. There's a limit & a way to express our opinion... Seems like you're the one that you've said about him (sic)" the filmmaker said.

On the "Unfiltered by Samdish" podcast, Warsi said he was "sad" that Prabhas was made to look like a joker in "Kalki 2898 AD".

"Amit ji was unbelievable... Prabhas, I am really sad, why was he… he was like a joker. Why? I want to see a 'Mad Max'. I want to see Mel Gibson over there. Tumne usko kya bana diya yaar. Kyu karte hain aisa mujhe nahin samajh mein aata (What did you make him? Why do they do such things?)" the actor had said.

Despite mixed reviews, Nag Ashwin's "Kalki 2898 AD" has crossed the Rs 1,000 crore milestone in box office collections worldwide. Also starring Kamal Haasan and Deepika Padukone, the mythological and sci-fi action drama released on June 27 in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi and English. It was produced by Vyjayanthi Movies.