Sandip Reddy Vanga's brother accuses critics of trying to undermine Prabhas' film 'Spirit'
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Aaj Tak
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Sandip Reddy Vanga's brother accuses critics of trying to undermine Prabhas' film 'Spirit'

Disputes arose before the release of the film 'Spirit,' directed by Sandip Reddy Vanga, starring Prabhas and Trupti Dimri. The film's producer, Pranay Reddy Vanga, openly challenged critics, stating that they could attack the film in theaters after its premiere.

Pranay, Sandip's brother, noted that critics might try to 'kill' 'Spirit' with their reviews after the release. He made this statement while discussing his recent film 'Romanchakam' (2026), which was released in theaters on September 3rd and received mixed reviews. Discussing the criticism, Pranay questioned how easily film reviews are written and spoke about the difficulties involved in filmmaking.

According to 'The Indian Express,' he stated: 'If you are involved in production, you understand how much effort the director puts into realizing the vision and what difficulties arise during production.'

He further added that if critics wished, they could try to 'kill' (the spirit/enthusiasm) of the team's upcoming film. Pranay continued: 'They plucked feathers from a chicken egg. If they are truly capable of doing something, we will see when 'Spirit' comes out. We will see when it comes out.'

'Spirit' is the first joint project between Prabhas and Sandip Reddy Vanga. It is expected to be an action-drama in which Prabhas plays a strong police officer. Deepika Padukone was initially supposed to play the role opposite Prabhas, but Trupti Dimri was later included in the project. Vivek Oberoi and Prakash Raj also play important roles in the film.

Several weeks ago, during the trailer presentation of 'Romanchakam,' Sandip Reddy Vanga stated that due to the violent and intense content in 'Spirit,' an adult rating was expected.

'Spirit' has been constantly in the spotlight because of its main cast. Initially, there were rumors that Deepika left the project due to work schedule restrictions, which paved the way for Trupti, who gained fame through Sandip's film 'Animal.' However, producer Pranay Reddy Vanga later explained this transition by saying it involved issues of payment and timelines. He also claimed that Deepika demanded a 10% share of the film's profits. He said: 'The reason is the same as before. Firstly, it was payment, and secondly, timelines. Additionally, there were other reasons. Soon the situation got out of control.'

Pranay added: 'Look, she can demand anything. If we want to give, we can give. But accounting for the budget is also important to us. We felt that things weren't clicking. So we started looking for other options. As soon as we started looking for alternatives, she began leaking all the details.'

Nevertheless, it is known that 'Spirit' will be released in theaters on March 5, 2027.

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Director of 'Hanuman ANSH' withdrew screenings from cinemas due to industry dissatisfaction
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Director of 'Hanuman ANSH' withdrew screenings from cinemas due to industry dissatisfaction

The film 'Hanuman ANSH' turned out to be an unexpected hit at the box office. Initially, there were only 350 screenings in India, but after a weak audience response, the number of sessions was reduced to 25. These difficult circumstances caused concern for director and co-producer Vishal Chaturvedi, who feared the film would fail. However, the film is now approaching the 100 million mark and is being shown in the international market.

In the podcast 'Nim Kings Baba', Vishal spoke about the difficulties the film faced. He noted that the film's success is largely due to the audience's reaction. While major releases were playing in theaters, they were given few screens, reducing the number of sessions from 250 to 25. Uncertainty arose regarding the film's screening in branches of major multiplexes like PVR and Cinepolis.

During this period of uncertainty, he saw an Instagram post that he had long ignored. This post, written by the people themselves and presented as a message from the Maharaja, made him feel that the film would fail. Then he saw another Instagram post with the inscription: 'Do your job, leave the rest to me.' This publication gave him motivation during the first week of release.

On Friday before Independence Day, Vishal decided to travel to Surat with his lead actor Shobin Sathe and composer Rishi Patak. After this moment, the film's fate began to change. Vishal reported that they arrived in Surat, where only one screening was planned. When they got there, the session was already underway, and people were hugging them, crying. The theater owner, seeing such a public reaction, could not say anything and started calling other theater owners, resulting in the number of film screenings beginning to increase. They then visited Vadodara and Aligarh, where the number of sessions also increased rapidly; in Aligarh, the first session was completely full in just 15 minutes.

Influenced by the positive reaction of the people, Vishal and his team began visiting many cities, theaters, and temples, actively promoting the film and trying to connect directly with the audience. According to Vishal, when he asked for help from people in Hollywood, no one responded. He mentioned receiving congratulations from many people after the good reception of the film, including Madhur Bhandarkar, even though he did not ask for help. However, he reached out for support to others who did not help. He believes that most people in the industry do not know what will be successful, yet they still give advice to others. In the industry, in his opinion, there are two types of people: those who genuinely want to make films, and those who lack passion and are just trying their luck in cinema.

About three weeks after the release of 'Hanuman ANSH', the film 'Toxic' by Yash was released. This film caused a great buzz, and its pre-sales were impressive. Nevertheless, due to negative reviews, the film failed, which benefited 'Hanuman ANSH'. Commenting on the results of 'Toxic', Vishal stated that if a film can be made for 20 million rupees, it should be made, and he too can succeed. He added that some films require greater resources and a higher budget. He highly praised Yash as an actor, believing that both types of films should have their place. In his conviction, emotional connection is extremely important for the success of any picture.

In the fourth week of 'Hanuman ANSH's' run, it earned about 75 million, and it is expected to reach the 100 million mark.

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