Stills from ‘Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu’ and ‘Anaganaga Oka Raju’
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
On January 13, 2026, the official handle of Hyderabad-based Sithara Entertainments tweeted that it has secured “court directions to ensure fair and orderly handling of reviews and rankings on digital platforms”, for its film Anaganaga Oka Raju.
The film starring Naveen Polishetty and Meenakshi Chaudhary released on January 14 and the movie even restricts users of ticketing apps from rating the film. The tweet by Sithara Entertainments further stated, “Cinema is best judged by audiences. This step supports responsible online engagement and ensures that irrational or coordinated activity is addressed in a suitable manner.”
This move by the production house comes on the heels of the producers of director Anil Ravipudi’s Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu setting such a precedent. The film starring Chiranjeevi and Nayanthara was the first Telugu film to approach the court in a bid to seek relief from bot-led targeted trolling on tickets apps and digital platforms.
Soon, the makers of two more Sankranti Telugu releases — Nari Nari Naduma Murari and Bhartha Mahasayulaku Wignyapthi —also followed suit.
When the news about Chiranjeevi’s film moving the court to obtain such an order was revealed over the weekend, it was appreciated by members of the Telugu film industry. In the recent past, filmmakers and actors had stated that their films had been subjected to vicious trolling, and often managed by bots.
Actor Vijay Deverakonda was among the first to take to social media to welcome the move. He stated on X (formerly Twitter): “Happy and sad to see this — happy to know hardwork, dreams and money of many is protected in a way. And sad because of the reality of our own people causing these problems. What happened to live and let live?”
He added that since the days of Dear Comrade, he had been a target of organised attacks. Vijay stated that all these years, his voice fell on deaf ears and he was repeatedly told that nobody can stop a good film. “Every producer and director who then makes a film with me, soon realises the scale of the issue. I have stayed up many nights wondering what kind of people do this, and how to deal with them.”
Several filmmakers and actors have welcomed the move of production houses seeking help from court to take on what they term as targeted, malicious ratings.
Meanwhile, this has stirred a debate on social media about what constitutes malicious rating or review of a film and if filmmakers can use this as a tool to also curb fair criticism.
Published – January 14, 2026 04:28 pm IST
