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In 2024, filmmaker Prasanth Varma made headlines when his superhero film HanuMan shattered box-office records, earning over Rs 400 crore worldwide despite being made on a modest budget. Released alongside Mahesh Babu’s Guntur Kaaram, the film’s resounding success firmly established Prasanth as one of Telugu cinema’s most promising directors. Following the blockbuster, the makers announced HanuMan 2, and Prasanth went on to reveal several upcoming projects — including one reportedly starring Ranveer Singh. However, that project was eventually shelved.
Now, a major controversy has surfaced. A group of producers — including HanuMan producer K Niranjan Reddy — have lodged a complaint against Prasanth Varma with the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce, alleging that the filmmaker accepted large advance payments for multiple films but failed to deliver on his commitments.
According to a letter addressed to the Telugu Film Producers Council on October 11, Niranjan Reddy claimed that Prasanth had not honoured several agreements made during the filming of HanuMan in 2021. The complaint stated that Prasanth had agreed to collaborate with the producer on future projects, including Adhira, Mahakali, Jai Hanuman (the sequel to HanuMan), and Brahma Rakshas, as part of the Prasanth Varma Cinematic Universe (PVCU) — but failed to follow through.
The letter further mentioned that the production house spent Rs 15 lakh on the teaser of Adhira. Additionally, between 2022 and 2024, Niranjan alleged that he paid Prasanth a total of Rs 2 crore, comprising Rs 50 lakh via bank transfer, Rs 1 crore in cash, and another Rs 50 lakh later. In 2024, he reportedly made further payments totaling Rs 8 crore for upcoming projects, also through bank transfers and cash.
Despite receiving these advances, Prasanth allegedly handed over Adhira to director Vijay Binni and Mahakali to Pooja Aparna Kolluru, instructing Niranjan to pay them Rs 15 lakh and Rs 2 lakh, respectively. The complaint also claimed that after the success of HanuMan, Prasanth “illegally” committed Jai Hanuman to Mythri Movie Makers, even though its prequel had been produced by Niranjan Reddy’s Primeshow Entertainment.
The allegations further stated that Prasanth took an additional Rs 10 crore in 2022 for his film Octopus, which remains incomplete despite partial shooting. Similarly, he has reportedly been in talks with Hombale Films to produce Brahma Rakshas, while already having accepted Rs 10 crore from Primeshow Entertainment for the same project.
As compensation for the alleged damages, Niranjan Reddy has sought Rs 100 crore for Jai Hanuman and Rs 25 crore each for Adhira, Mahakali, Octopus, and Brahma Rakshas — amounting to a total claim of Rs 200 crore.
Following these accusations, Prasanth Varma has finally broken his silence. Taking to his official X (formerly Twitter) account, the filmmaker stated: “The dispute between me and M/s Primeshow Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. is presently pending and under consideration before the Telugu Film Chamber/Telugu Film Directors’ Association and is therefore sub judice.”
He further added: “I categorically state that the allegations made against me are false, baseless, and retaliatory.”
Prasanth also urged the media to refrain from publishing further reports until the Film Chamber delivers its verdict.
Meanwhile, Jai Hanuman — starring Rishab Shetty as Lord Hanuman — is currently in production. Previously, Rishab Shetty had confirmed that Mythri Movie Makers is the producer of the film with Prasanth its director.
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