Did a popular Kollywood director betray Naga Chaitanya?
Venkat Prabhu, the director behind Thalapathy Vijay’s The Greatest of All Time, previously directed the bilingual film Custody, starring Naga Chaitanya, which was released in 2023 and ended up as a flop. In a recent interview, Venkat shared insights about Custody, revealing that it was originally conceived as a caste-based film, inspired by the works of filmmakers like Vetrimaaran and Pa Ranjith. The movie was meant to address serious societal issues.
However, Venkat Prabhu made significant changes to the script after learning that Telugu audiences might not accept caste-based narratives. These changes altered the film’s original essence, which many believe led to its failure. According to Venkat, Custody was about an oppressed-community constable who captures a most-wanted criminal from the same caste. The central conflict revolved around the constable’s dilemma of choosing between justice and his caste loyalty.
View this post on Instagram
After the film’s poor performance, Venkat Prabhu faced criticism on social media. Many critics argued that he altered the original script too much in response to audience expectations, resulting in a diluted version of the story. Some even accused him of blaming the movie’s failure on external factors instead of acknowledging the flaws in the revised version. The controversy has sparked discussions about the film’s potential if it had stayed true to its original concept.
