Allu Aravind is gearing up for his next production Thandel, Chandoo Mondeti’s romantic drama starring Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi. At a pre-release event on Sunday, the veteran producer took a dig at the recent failure of S Shankar’s action entertainer Game Changer, starring Ram Charan and Kiara Advani, and backed by Dil Raju. (Also Read – Vanga wanted to cast Sai Pallavi in Arjun Reddy, was told to forget about it: ‘The girl won’t even wear sleeveless’)

What Allu Aravind said

In a video doing the rounds on X, Allu is heard saying in Telugu at the event, “Dil Raju made history recently. One movie of his was like this (gestures down, hinting at Game Changer), while another movie was like this (gestures up, hinting at Sankranthi Vastunam). He got raided by Income Tax (department). A lot happened in a week,” he said, while smiling.

The internet wasn’t impressed by Aravind’s dig at Dil Raju. An X user even dug out an old clip of Aravind’s son and actor Allu Arjun confessing in Telugu, “I was once rejoicing when a film failed.” Another user commented on that clip, “Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” “They are trolling dil raju now? hahahah,” said another. “@AlwaysRamCharan do you understand how they are enjoying your movie failures,” read a third comment.

In defense of Allu Aravind

Many defended Allu Aravind too. A user argued, “Not a single appreciation tweet by any megays for Pushpa 2 success but Allu Arjun and his father should always support megays. What stupid logic?” Allu Arjun-starrer Pushpa 2: The Rule, directed by Sukumar and produced by Mythri Movie Makers, emerged as the biggest Indian hit domestically after it released last year. Meanwhile, Game Changer, which released over a month after Pushpa 2, tanked at the box office eventually.

Meanwhile, Allu Aravind’s next production, Thandel, is slated to release in cinemas on February 3. Allu Arjun was supposed to attend a pre-release event of the film as special guest on Sunday. However, after he didn’t make it post delay, Aravind explained that the actor is suffering from extreme gastritis after returning from an overseas shoot.