The caste tag of ‘Reddy’ in the title of director Prasanth Varma’s upcoming zombie thriller ‘Zombie Reddy’ has stirred a controversy, with the Reddys, a dominant community in the Telugu states, raising objections to the name.
They have demanded the maker to remove the Reddy in the title as it paints their community people as zombies.
Responding to the controversy, director Prashant Varma said the film will not hurt the sentiments of the Reddy community. He claimed the title glorifies the community.
But why should any filmmaker glorify or demean any caste? Why does one need a caste name for a zombie thriller? His explanation here doesn’t sound right.
Prashant Varma, however, urged the people not to misinterpret the title as it is apt for the story and is set in Kurnool, which is known for Reddys dominating the political space.
The film is about coronavirus. The Zombie genre is new to the Telugu cinema. Prashant Varma won a name for his debut movie ‘Awe’, a psychological thriller, and the film also won national awards. His second film, Kalki, tanked at the box-office. ‘Zombie Reddy’ is his third film.
