Reacting to the claims made by a wannabe director named Rajesh Manduri that Koratala Siva had copied his story that was meant for a Nandamuri Balakrishna film in making Chiranjeevi's 'Acharya', the makers have on Thursday condemned the charges.

"We wish to inform everyone that 'Acharya' is an original story that was written and conceived by Koratala Siva alone. Any claim that the said story is copied is baseless," Konidela Production Company and Matinee Entertainment said.

The statement suggested that false claims have been made owing to the huge hype around the big-ticket title. "As the hype reaches its zenith, a couple of writers have now made false claims with respect to the story of the film. We have kept the story confidential and only select few people are aware of what it is all about," it added. The only hint so far about Chiranjeevi's character was made by the actor himself in a recent interview.

The producers said that it is "absolutely ridiculous" to make claims on the basis of the motion poster alone (which was out recently and had some clues about its tropes).

"It's unacceptable to defame a reputed filmmaker like Koratala Siva. The claims which are being made are unfounded. We think they are based on the speculative and rumoured stories in the print and electronic media," the statement added.