Like every year, Tollywood saw some major controversies in 2019 also. Some of them were about films, others were about personalities. In this special piece, IndiaGlitz looks into the rows that were in the news more often than not.

Lakshmi's NTR

Ram Gopal Varma made this film to remind everyone about how Chandrababu Naidu staged a legendary coup back in the 1990s by systematically backstabbing NT Rama Rao, his father-in-law and then Chief Minister of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. The film invited the disgust of several TDP leaders, who ensured that it didn't release till the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections were over in the State. It had a smooth release in Telangana, though.

'Sye Raa':

The descendants of Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy kept on putting forward demands, both reasonable and unreasonable. Producer Ram Charan, at one point, was asked by them to pay Rs 50 Cr (reportedly) for using the name and life story of their ancestor for commercial purposes. They sat on dharnas, approached different media houses, and even said that Ram Charan was not listening to them even after Chiranjeevi had promised justice. We hope the controversy is now a thing of the past. Or is it still around?

'Saaho':

Soon after the film's release, it was alleged that 'Saaho' was a "freemake" of the French film 'Largo Winch'. French director Jerome Salle suggested that 'Saaho' was an unofficial remake of his film, just as 'Agnyathavaasi' was. To be fair to the makers of 'Saaho', the story had nothing much to do with 'Largo Winch'.

There was another controversy. The early posters/stills of 'Saaho', many said, aped the posters of some Hollywood movies. Director Sujeeth differed with them. "Tell me the names of the films which we have allegedly copied," he asked.

The Puri-Mahesh Babu fans row:

Puri Jagannadh said something juicy. "Mahesh Babu's fans keep urging me every day to make 'Jana Gana Mana' with their favourite star. They are not aware that Mahesh doesn't trust someone who is out of form. I like Mahesh's fans more than Mahesh because they trust me," the 'iSmart Shankar' said, angering Mahesh's fans by adding that he is a man of character who will not work with the actor anymore. Mahesh's fans trolled him, saying that the 'Maharshi' actor had teamed up with the director for 'Pokiri' and 'Businessman' when the going was not very good for the director.

The Bunny controversy

A section of the media reported that Allu Arjun shouted at a Co-Director of 'Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo' on the sets of the film just because the Co-Director merely asked him to be ready for the shot. It was said that a Union looked into the complaint lodged by the Co-Director against the Mega hero. The controversy didn't gain much traction because other sections of media came up with reports that contradicted the early reports.

The 'Valmiki' row:

A section of those belonging to the Valmiki community felt that Harish Shankar's 'Valmiki' was out to portray the author of Ramayana in a poor light by glorifying a negative character (played by Varun Tej). The films was banned in Anantapur and Kurnool districts the night before its release. The producers and distributors went into an anxious huddle and decided to change the title to 'Gaddalakonda Ganesh' to avoid the ban. Overnight, prints were edited suitably and new publicity material manufactured. Harish Shankar made an emotional appeal to the Valmiki community and almost had tears in his eyes when he said that he felt extremely pained by the needless controversy.

The Sandeep Vanga row:

'Arjun Reddy' director Sandeep Reddy Vanga indulged in some verbal diarrhea after the release of 'Kabir Singh'. In an interview, he opined that slapping was a sign of love. "If you don't have the freedom to slap around, I think there is no love," he declared. Feminists and humanists lashed out at him for speaking in the "language of rape and sexual violence".

The Mahesh Babu row:

An English-language daily reported that a huge tussle had been going on between producer C Ashwini Dutt of Vyjayanthi Movies on the one hand and the Mahesh Babu-Dil Raju duo on the other.

Dutt wanted to lay his hands on the Krishna region's distribution rights for 'Maharshi'. However, he was not entitled to such rights as per the initial agreement between him, Dil Raju, and Mahesh. Right after Dil Raju entered the project, Dutt had to cede some entitlements, the report said. It was rumoured that Mahesh mooted legal action against Dutt. In all probability, it was all fiction!

Amma Rajyamlo Kadapa Biddalu:

Unlike 'Lakshmi's NTR' (which was part fact, part fiction), this one was cent percent fiction. The problem is, Ram Gopal Varma wrote fiction around real political personalities like YS Jagan and Chandrababu Naidu. Some individuals allegedly backed by the Telugu Desam Party resorted to legal avenues to get the movie postponed. Its release got delayed by two weeks, which RGV said is the reason why it flopped badly. The High Court in Telangana did intervene and directed the CBFC to revise the movie. RGV tried to "provoke" caste conflicts with the 'Caste Feeling' song and the lousy title, 'Kamma Rajyamlo Kadapa Reddlu'. KA Paul, for all we know, was offended more than Pawan Kalyan's fans.

George Reddy:

The students union ABVP was perceived to have been shown in a negative light in the film. A couple of small leaders of the organization did raise objections against this biopic. After the release, nobody cared about this Jeevan Reddy directorial. And rightly so. It was plain and generic, and didn't really get ideological or political.

MAA row:

The election to the new President of Movie Artists Association was not a smooth affair. Soon after the election, the MAA's division into the Naresh and anti-Naresh camps only intensified. A series of pressers by Naresh and the other camp brought everything in the open. It's said that Megastar Chiranjeevi tried to broker some peace. The differences even reached the court of law.

Vishwak Sen Vs Vijay Deverakonda's fans

Days after the release of 'Falaknuma Das', actor Vishwak Sen showed his disappointment over some random folks (presumed to be fans of Vijay Deverakonda) tearing the posters of his film. The video was edited misleadingly. As a result, a rumour went out that Vishwak had just warned Vijay Deverakonda's fans. It was not the case at all.