'Ashamed' Lyricist Anantha Sriram Slams Prabhas' Kalki 2898 AD For Portraying Karn As 'Superior To Arjun’: They Distorted...

After Arshad Warsi, lyricist-poet Anantha Sriram criticised Prabhas starrer Kalki 2898 AD for portraying Karna as "superior to Arjuna". He further called for boycotting such films and alleged that contemporary cinema is “distorting Hindu mythology”. Nag Ashwin's mythological drama, which stars Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan and Deepika Padukone, is one of the best movies of 2024. It became the second-highest-grossing Indian film of 2024.

Game Changer lyricist Anantha Sriram slams Kalki 2898 AD makers

 Lyricist Anantha Sriram appeared at a religious gathering organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Krishna district last week. During the event, he spoke about the cinema, and how they have "distorted" Hindu mythology and asked the audience present at the event to "put up with it". He even slammed filmmakers for misrepresenting Hindu deities and symbols and stated that when a director rejected the term ‘Brahmanda Nayakudu’, a title for Lord Vishnu, he vowed never to work with him again.

There he also expressed his displeasure with Kalki 2898 AD and said “When they distorted and portrayed Karna as superior to Arjuna, how dare we as a Hindu society stay silent? When Draupadi vastraharan took place, what did Karna do? I am ashamed as a person who belongs to this film industry. We are not going to stay silent anymore.”  

He further criticised the makers for taking creative liberties with epic mythologies Ramayana and Bhagavata Purana.

Director Venu Udugula slams Anantha Sriram

Needi Naadi oke Katha director Venu Udugula reminded Anantha Sriram when Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (NTR), who also humanised Karna. He took to his X handle to pen question Sriram if he is rejecting NTR's legacy. He shared a poster of the movie and wrote, "Hello @IananthaSriram sir, The matter of the  #Kalki movie aside, in the Telugu cultural narrative, the first film to introduce a social and humanitarian perspective to Karna’s character was Daana Veera Soora Karna. The great #NTR brought Karna’s persona closer to the people through this film. Are your comments directed solely at Karna’s character, or do they also attempt to undermine the socially resonant vision that NTR presented? Can your remarks be seen as a rejection of his creative legacy?"

He added, "@IananthaSriram, every character possesses dual dimensions of good and evil in literature or cinema. In Karna’s case, it seems you have completely ignored this duality. By dismissing the narrative of a man who faced caste discrimination yet rose as a warrior, don’t your remarks reflect a one-sided viewpoint?"

For the unversed, Anantha Sriram recently worked in Ram Charan starrer Game Changer, he has written lyrics for two songs Jaragandi and Raa Macha Macha.