Bhairavam is scheduled to be released next week in theatres. Seven days ahead of its release, a section of movie-goers are polarized.
It all began with director Vijay Kanakamedala praising Power Star Pawan Kalyan at the film's Trailer launch event. Those who are politically inclined against the Deputy CM of Andhra Pradesh began criticizing him for politicizing a film event.
On Thursday, a 14-year-old social media post on Vijay's Facebook handle did the rounds on social media platforms. The post was an insensitive meme on Chiranjeevi and Ram Charan. After it went viral, a section of Mega fans started giving 'Boycott Bhairavam' calls. A widely-shared tweet stated that everyone from the director of Bhairavam to the three male leads (Bellamkonda Sai Srinivas, Nara Rohit and Manchu Manoj) and the film's music director belong to one caste group and, therefore, the film deserved to be boycotted.
After things started getting out of hand, director Vijay Kanakamedala clarified that his old social media post was not by him but by a hacker. He wrote, "I have had healthy ties with Mega heroes. I worked on a movie featuring Pawan Kalyan garu. He introduced me to Sai Dharam Tej, who addresses me as 'anna'. I have only gained from my associations with Mega heroes. Why would I go against them?"
Bhairavam, produced by Sri Sathya Arts, heads to theatres on May 30.
