Ananth Sriram, the renowned Tollywood lyricist turned Hindutva advocate, recently shared the stage with hundreds of saffron-clad swamijis and sadhus at a VHP meeting in Vijayawada.
The event, which drew a massive crowd, was a grand success.
The highlight of the event was Ananth Sriram's pointed criticism of Sr NTR and Ashwini Dutt, though he refrained from naming them directly.
He referred to a director from Krishna district and a contemporary producer from the same region, accusing them of distorting Hindu mythology and causing harm.
Sriram specifically criticized the film Kalki, in which the Mahabharata character Karna is portrayed as more heroic and powerful than Arjuna.
The film, produced by Ashwini Dutt, a native of Krishna district, follows a trend first popularized by Sr NTR, who celebrated Karna's heroism in his film Dana Veera Soora Karna.
Ananth Sriram’s boldness in criticizing Sr NTR, a revered figure in the Telugu film industry, caught many by surprise.
Speaking in the same Krishna district, Sriram emphasized his courage to "call a spade a spade."
He also revealed his strong commitment to Hindutva, sharing an incident where he refused to work with a non-Hindu music director who had asked him to alter the phrase Brahmanda Nayakudu to remove its Hindu reference.
Sriram stated he hasn’t collaborated with that music director in the past 15 years but did not disclose their identity.
He urged Hindus to challenge any ridicule or distortion of Hindu mythology and called for a boycott of films that misrepresent it. Many interpreted his comments as a direct attack on Kalki and similar movies.
However, netizens have pointed out contradictions in Sriram's stance. Some highlighted his lyrics from the film Yamadonga, such as the song Young Yama, Young Yama iragesuko... ma vote tho seat ke era vesuko..., which humorously depicts Yama Dharmaraja, a divine figure in Hindu mythology.
Critics argue that Sriram’s past works also played a part in light-hearted portrayals of Hindu mythology, raising questions about his current position.