On Friday, the Animal team and several special guests attended the film’s pre-release event in Hyderabad. Along with actor Mahesh Babu and filmmaker SS Rajamouli, politician and Telangana Minister of Labour and Employment Malla Reddy was there. His statement about ‘Telugu ruling over India’ sparked controversy.
Malla Reddy took the stage as everyone else watched him from the audience section. Addressing Ranbir, he said in Hindi, “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.”
Minister #MallaReddy sparked controversy at the #AnimalPreReleaseEvent, making bold statements. He declared, 'Telugu people will lead India; you must move to Hyderabad in a year. Mumbai is outdated Hyderabad is the only city for India.' #Animal
— Anil Tiwari (@Anil_Kumar_ti) November 27, 2023
He also lauded Telugu artistes Rajamouli and Mahesh Babu, as well as Animal director Sandeep Reddy Vanga and actress Rashmila Mandanna.
Telugu film fans, as well as Twitter in general, were ’embarrassed’ by Reddy’s statement. Many people applauded Ranbir for smiling through it all. One user wrote, “Hats off to Ranbir for being so patient.” Another wrote, . “Relax, we Telugu speaking people ourselves don’t consider him serious. Why worry so much? Never create controversy for your reach.”
Animal, which also stars Anil Kapoor and Bobby Deol, will be released on December 1.