At the pre-release event of the romantic drama 8 Vasanthalu, director Phanindra Narsetti stirred controversy with his remarks about commercial cinema, which have gone viral on social media. “It’s not that I can’t make commercial films. I just don’t feel like making them,” he stated, addressing questions about his preference for artistic films over mainstream entertainers.
The director revealed that many people often ask him why he leans towards art-house storytelling rather than making commercial films. Defending his creative choices, Phanindra Narsetti said, “If I keep my pen aside and stop considering elements like poetry and love just for 10 minutes, I can create rampage. A glimpse of that can be seen in the Varanasi fight sequence in 8 Vasanthalu.”
Phanindra went on to express his deep love for poetry, adding that poetry served as a form of emotional healing for soldiers wounded in World War II. However, his remarks haven’t gone down well with many cinephiles and fans of commercial cinema. Social media platforms are buzzing with criticism, with many accusing the director of looking down on mainstream films.
Several users pointed out that making crowd-pleasing commercial films is no easy task and that understanding the public pulse takes a lot of skill. “Commercial films are keeping theatres alive,” one cinephile commented, while others noted that both art films and commercial entertainers have their place and shouldn’t be pitted against each other.
Many feel that Narsetti could have celebrated art films without undermining the value of commercial films. Nonetheless, the controversy has kept 8 Vasanthalu in the spotlight ahead of its theatrical release this week. Ananthika Sanilkumar and Ravi Duggirala played the lead roles. Let’s see how the film fares at the box office.