He should have chosen his words better, says Nag Ashwin on Arshad’s comments

'Kalki 2898 AD' director says Arshad's comments should not be used to cause divide between north and south film industries

New Delhi: ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ director Nag Ashwin on Saturday opened up about the controversy surrounding actor Arshad Warsi’s comments about Prabhas looking like a ‘joker’ in the sci-fi movie, saying the ‘Munnabhai’ star should have “chosen his words better but it’s ok”.

Arshad had stirred up a storm with his comments in an interview about the film and Prabhas’ portrayal of ‘Bhairava’ in it, which many of the south superstar’s fans took as a personal dig against the actor. But Ashwin, in a post on X, said Arshad’s comments should not be used to cause divide between north and south film industries.

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“Let’s not go backwards… no more north-south or bolly vs tolly.. Eyes on the bigger picture.. United Indian Film Industry, Arshad saab should have chosen his words better but it’s ok. Sending Buji toys 4 his kids,” Ashwin posted on X in a reply to a handle. The filmmaker said he will work hard on the sequel to the movie so that people say that Prabhas was the best in ‘K2’.

“Too much hate in the world already bro.. we can try not to add to it I know Prabhas garu will also feel the same,” he added. Arshad, in an interaction with Samdish, had expressed his dislike for how Prabhas was portrayed in the movie.

“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 dia yaar. Kyu karte ho aisa mujhe nahi samajh mein aata (What have you made of him? I don’t understand why they do such things).”

‘Kalki 2898 AD’, which has earned Rs 1,050 cr across the world since its release on June 27, featured top talent from both south and Bollywood with names such as Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Kamal Haasan and many others. It is now available on streaming platforms.