Ranveer Singh’s Praise to Rishab’s Kantara Sparks Controversy

Bollywood actor Ranveer Singh stoked a huge controversy while attempting to praise Kannada star Rishab Shetty during the closing ceremony of International Film Festival of India in Goa on Friday. While his admiration and respect for Superstar Rajinikanth at IFFI earned him widespread acclaim, his public imitation of Rishab Shetty’s signature divine scream from ‘Kantara’ on stage has now landed him in trouble as Kannada audience feel it as an insult. 

What is even more disappointing is Ranveer Singh calling Guliga daiva’s sister Chavundi a “female ghost”, whereas she is originally a female deity who is the protector of Temple land and people. Due to lack of complete knowledge and understanding of the divine characters, Ranveer Singh portrayed Chavundi as a ghost much to the ire of Kannada supporters. Even Rishab Shetty didn’t appear pleased with Ranveer’s gesture when he imitated the former on the big stage. 

Outraged with Ranveer Singh’s over enthusiasm, Kannada audience are demanding the actor to render an apology for his actions. Some called it blasphemy and demanded him to retract his statements and actions. They even threatened to boycott Ranveer Singh’s upcoming film Durandhar, which is slated for release in the first week of a December. 

After the release of Kantara : Chapter 1, many fans started recreating ‘Daiva’ character in theatres as a show of respect and love towards cinema. But, the makers immediately issued an advisory to fans to refrain from doing so as it represents people’s faith and beliefs and involves many sentiments and emotions.