Chiranjeevi's Bhola Shankar is far less cringe than Ajith Kumar's Vedalam: Director Meher Ramesh

Filmmaker Meher Ramesh has sparked a controversy with his comments on the Tamil hit Vedalam starring Tamil superstar Ajith Kumar. Ramesh has written and directed Bhola Shankar, which is the Telugu remake of Vedalam, and it stars Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi in the lead. 

The trailer of Bhola Shankar garnered mixed reactions with many describing it as "cringy." Addressing this criticism during a recent interview, Ramesh said, "If you see Vedalam, it will be 10 times cringy. But, I have not done it in Bholaa Shankar. I have made the film to suit the taste of the Telugu audience." 

Ramesh's comments didn't go down well with the fans of the Tamil original. Many have lashed out at the comments and wondered why the director wanted to remake it in Telugu if he had found the Tamil version so cringy in the first place. Some even expressed shock, while others have expressed intrigue to see how Ramesh has handled "cringe moments" in the movie. 

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Amid the criticism, Ramesh tweeted a clarification explaining why he wanted it to remake in Telugu. "I loved Vedalam when watched in 2015 and admired how the original story by @directorsiva sir showed strong bonding of a brother&sister, a sentiment that reflects with millions of people and wanted to show it to our Telugu audience. In 2009, I remade Ajith sir’s Billa with Darling Prabhas and now again I’m grateful for the opportunity to do Ajith Sir’s Action entertainer “Vedalam” as Megastar (sic)," he tweeted. 

Vedalam was a big hit at the box office when it came out in 2015. Written and directed by Siva, the film stars Ajith as a reformed gangster on a vengeful mission. Besides Ajith, the featured Lakshmi Menon, Shruti Hassan, Ashwin Kakumanu, Rahul Dev and Thambi Ramaiah in the lead roles. 

In Bhola Shankar, Chiranjeevi leads the star cast, which also includes Tamannaah Bhatia, Keerthy Suresh and Sushanth. 

Bhola Shankar is due in cinemas on August 11.