Brahmanandam is hailed as the undisputed king of comedy. His brief presence will elevate the film to new heights. Of late, Brahmi, as he is fondly called has been facing staunch criticism for accepting roles that lack substance. His recent appearances in films Bruce Lee and Sher hardly showed any impact on the film. Those who have watched them have found his performances uninteresting. It seems the makers have decided to replace him with other comedians like Sapthagiri, Shakalaka Shankar, Prudhvi and Dhanraj in their films.

The latest buzz is that Nandamuri Balakrishna has refused to cast Brahmanandam in his upcoming film Dictator. Sources say, Balakrishna feels that Brahmi has become monotonous in the acting and adding to that his remuneration of Rs 5 lakh a day is too high for the makers to afford. "Unlike in the past, the producers and actors are looking to cut-down the budget in every possible way. So, they are consciously avoiding anything excess in terms of it. Since, Brahmi is charging nothing less than Rs 5 lakh a day, the makers are exploring options to replace him in their films," informs a source.

However, when contacted a source from the production of Dictator, he had some other version to say. “Brahmi was not present in the film owing to his hectic work schedules. Remuneration is not exactly the reason for not signing him. We wanted to have bulk dates of Brahmi for Dictator. But, he had already committed to work for a slew of films. So, we are considering other comedian for the role originally penned for Brahmi."