Hyderabad, March 11 – Telugu film director Harish Shankar apologized to Mahesh Babu's fans on Wednesday for a tweet he posted on Tuesday, stating that he had immense respect for Superstar Mahesh Babu and that he believed his upcoming film, 'Varanasi', would break many records.
The issue began on Tuesday when director Harish Shankar, who was responding to fans on social media platforms about his upcoming film, 'Ustaad Bhagat Singh', responded to a fan's tweet urging his film to surpass the records set by Mahesh Babu's films. Quoting the tweet without reading it completely, he said "That's it," which translates to "So be it." This tweet did not go down well with Mahesh Babu's fans, who quickly expressed their dissatisfaction.
However, within a minute of posting it, the director realized he had made a mistake and immediately deleted it. He then issued a statement apologizing for his mistake.
Harish Shankar, whose upcoming film, 'Ustaad Bhagat Singh' starring Pawan Kalyan, is scheduled for release on March 19, said in his statement, "Yesterday was a very busy day. I had a meeting with the board officials after the censor, visited the Peddamma Temple to seek blessings, took care of post-production work, did the final checks for the song promo, and also completed a round of promotions before heading to Thaman's studio for the background score."
He went on to explain, "During this time, I was also replying to journalists, well-wishers, and fans who appreciated the promo and were sending their wishes. In that rush, I only partially read a tweet and quoted it unintentionally. Within a minute, my team alerted me and asked me to read the tweet completely. I immediately realized the mistake and deleted it."
He then said, "I have immense respect for Superstar Mahesh Babu. In fact, I have always believed that many records will be created under his name with 'Varanasi'. This was an unintentional mistake with absolutely no intention to hurt him or his fans. You can even check the tweets I posted on his birthday about 'Pokiri' to understand the love and respect I have for him."
"However, if that brief moment caused any hurt to people's feelings, I sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart. For a film to create records, it needs the love and support of fans from all heroes and families alike. I have enough common sense not to post such things when my film is releasing in just 10 days. Once again, please accept my sincere apologies for this unintentional mistake and continue to support our film. Thank you for your understanding," he said.