At Sunday's 'Veera Simha Reddy' event, Nandamuri Balakrishna gave a short speech that ran for a mere 30 minutes. But he didn't lose the opportunity to stoke a controversy or two within the short period.

While talking about NT Rama Rao's contemporaries, the 'Akhanda' actor made a reference to the legendary SV Ranga Rao as well as ANR. He used the word 'Thokkineni' after invoking the surname 'Akkineni'. While the two words rhyme, they were used with a touch of disrespect.

The 'Akkineni, Thokkineni' gaffe was delivered in such a way that the Hindupur MLA looked a bit arrogant. Many Netizens are criticizing Balayya for not practicing stage etiquette.

A Netizen opined that Balayya comes across as a completely down-to-earth person on Unstoppable With NBK. "In yesterday's speech, he was a picture in contrast. It makes me wonder if the image he projects on the talk show is a choreographed image and his true self is what we witnessed at yesterday's event," a Netizen wrote.