New Delhi: The cast of 'Animal' and a few special guests attended the pre-release event on Friday in Hyderabad. Malla Reddy, the Telangana politician and Minister of Labor and Employment, was there alongside actor Mahesh Babu and filmmaker SS Rajamouli. His remark about "Telugu ruling over India" sparked an uproar.
While everyone else watched from the audience section, Malla Reddy took the stage. Speaking in Hindi to the film's main actor, Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor, “Ranbir ji, aapko ek baat bolna chahta hu. Agla paanch saal mein, poore Hindustan ko, Bollywood, Hollywood, poora ruling karega humara Telugu people. Aap bhi ek saal ke baad Hyderabad shift hona padta. Kyu bole toh Bombay purana ho gaya. Bangalore traffic jam ho gaya. Hindustan mein ek hi city hai woh hai Hyderabad (Ranbir, I want to tell you something. In next five years, Telugu people will rule over India, Bollywood and Hollywood. You will also have to move to Hyderabad next year. Why? Because Mumbai is old now and Bengaluru has traffic jams. Hyderabad is the only city in India).”
Along with star Rashmila Mandanna and director Sandeep Reddy Vanga of Animal, he also lauded Telugu actors Rajamouli and Mahesh Babu. Reddy's speech "embarrassed" Telugu film buffs. Ranbir received a lot of appreciation for keeping her smile throughout.
Talking about the film, Ranbir had said, “This movie is basically about an obsessive love. No kind of obsession is ever healthy and this is what it is about. The character is just someone who is deeply obsessed with his father’s love, he craves for it. There are also childhood scars which shape him, later turning him into what he is.”
The film is directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga. 'Animal', which also stars Bobby Deol and Anil Kapoor, is scheduled for release on December 1.
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