The Telugu movie “Baby,” directed by Sai Rajesh Neelam, recently found itself in a controversy.The film was released on July 14, 2023, and has earned nearly Rs 40 crore at the box office.
The controversy revolves around certain drug scenes in the movie.While the film had included legal warnings about these scenes when shown in theaters and on OTT platforms, these warnings were missing in the trailer and songs posted on YouTube.
This discrepancy led to the makers receiving a legal notice and advisory notice from the Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad.
Sai Rajesh Neelam clarified that the absence of warnings on YouTube was an oversight and not an intention to promote drug consumption.
In fact, he mentioned that the film aimed to highlight the negative consequences of drug use and not endorse it.To further convey this message, the team released a video on Twitter where Sai Rajesh Neelam urged the youth to refrain from such activities.
In the video, he explained that the drug scene in the movie was meant to depict the challenges one might face due to misguided friendships.He emphasized that the warnings were present during theatrical and OTT releases.
The director expressed his belief that no filmmaker or public figure should promote such behaviors, and the team would feel remorseful if anyone took it that way.Their intention was not to encourage such actions, and he made sure to clarify this to the police commissioner and the audience.
Reports indicate that “Baby” had a pre-release business of around Rs 7.4 crore and grossed Rs 90 crore worldwide, despite its modest budget.The film garnered attention for scenes that appeared to be inspired by other Telugu films like “Arjun Reddy” and “RX 100.” However, the filmmakers addressed these concerns, and “Baby” is now recognized as one of the highest-grossing Telugu films.
