An old video of actor Arshad Warsi discussing south films has resurfaced on Reddit and X (formerly Twitter) after his recent comment on Prabhas’ character in Nag Ashwin’s Kalki 2898 AD. The internet seems miffed that he thinks south Indian cinema ‘requires no brain’ to watch it. (Also Read: Vishnu Manchu in letter to Poonam Dhillon-led CINETAA: ‘Arshad Warsi’s comment on Prabhas has hurt sentiments’)
Arshad Warsi’s old comment on south cinema
In an old interview, Arshad was asked if south cinema will generate magic in the north, especially after the attention Prashanth Neel’s Kannada film KGF got there.
Arshad answers, “I think mere ghar mein jitne log kaam karte hain, vo sab dubbed south films dekhte hain, sab ke sab. It is highly entertaining. Rajinikanth jo itne bade star hain; kuch reason to hoga hi. Zyada sochne ki zaroorat nahi hain, zyada dimaag crack karne ki zaroorat nahi hain. Aap dekh lo gadiyaan ud rahi hain, log udd rahe hain. Sab popcorn khao, picture dekho, ghar chale jao. (Everyone who works at my house watches dubbed south films. There must be a reason why Rajinikanth is such a big star. They don’t require much thinking. You see vehicles and people are flying everywhere. Eat popcorn, watch the film, and go home.)”
People react to Arshad Warsi’s old comment
People seemed miffed to see Arshad talk about south films in this manner. One person commented, “He should have said it to Rohit Shetty as well bro thinks Golmaal is oscar worthy.” Another wrote, “And that’s how you ruin the sympathy you created…”
One person thought Arshad was ‘deliberately’ talking about south films in such manner, “I sympathised with Arshad Warsi in Prabhas issue but it seems he deliberately insults Southern Industry! He talks as if Bollywood delivers Inception, Tenet level of movies! May be he is raze baiting for his 15 minutes of glory! What a fall.” One sarcastically commented, “You need to have atleast 200 IQ for watching movies like Total Dhamaal.”
Some people even went as far as thinking Arshad was being ‘classist’ with his comments. “Looks like people don’t want to be associated with liking the same thing as their house help or people who work in their homes do. Classism is quite evident by the title,” wrote one and another agreed, “So he’s saying his ‘servants’ are all stupid. Why, because they’re poor? Does this man have a doctorate? He literally played a goofy side kick in a movie two decades ago. And we’re applauding this?”
The Kalki 2898 AD fiasco
In a podcast with Samdish, Arshad had said, “Prabhas, I am really sad, why was he… he was like a joker. Why? I want to see a Mad Max. I want to see Mel Gibson over there. Tumne usko kya bana dia yaar. Kyu karte ho aisa mujhe nahi samajh mein aata (What have you made of it? Why do they do such things I never understand).”
Director Nag tried to take the high road on X recently and tried to put an end to the drama. He replied to people on X, writing, “Let’s not go backwards..no more north-south or bolly vs tolly..eyes on the bigger picture.. United Indian Film Industry..Arshad saab should have chosen his words better..but it’s ok..sending buji toys 4 his kids..il work hard so tweets fdfs that prabhas was the best ever in k2.”
He also replied to another person asking people to choose between Arshad and Prabhas, “Who are you man? Why so much hate? And spreading division? We are all in this together…Chill… Can I send u a bujji toy?”