Telugu star Vijay Deverakonda and his fans had huge expectations from his latest outing, Family Star, which hit the screens on Friday. However, the much-anticipated film opened to a lukewarm response and poor reviews. To add to Deverakonda’s woes, who desperately needed a hit after a string of duds — World Famous Lover, Dear Comrade, Liger and Kushi — at the box office, netizens trolled the actor for the film which also stars Mrunal Thakur. Affected by constant trolling, Deverakonda’s team has taken action against the trolls and those “running negative online campaigns” targeting the actor and his recent release. The actor’s manager and president of his fan club have filed a complaint with the Cyberabad Police in Madhapur, Hyderabad, against trolls who they claim have impacted the film’s box office performance.
A representative for Deverakonda shared a picture on X, formerly Twitter, showing the team filing a complaint with the police, stating that action has already been taken and fake accounts are being traced. He wrote, “Cyber Crime Complaint lodged against individuals who are part of orchestrated attacks and planned negative campaigns targeting The #FamilyStar movie and actor #VijayDeverakonda. The police officials started taking action already and are tracing the fake ids and users and assured due course. @CyberCrimeshyd #TheFamilyStar (sic).”
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Cyber Crime Complaint lodged against individuals who are part of orchestrated attacks and planned negative campaigns targeting The #FamilyStar movie and actor #VijayDeverakonda.
The police officials started taking action already and are tracing the fake ids and users and assured… pic.twitter.com/wQH8JxiS0G
— Suresh PRO (@SureshPRO_) April 7, 2024
The trolling of Family Star began way before the film’s release in theatres. Soon after the song “Kalyani Vaccha Vacchaa”, was dropped, internet users called out the makers for featuring lavish settings in a film that focused on the middle-class. During a press conference, when Vijay Deverakonda was asked the same question, he hit back, replying “I don’t understand. Are people genuinely confused or are they just looking to troll us?”
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A post shared by Vijay Deverakonda (@thedeverakonda)
According to a report by TeluguOne.com, Sri Venkateswara Creations (SVC), the production house which made Family Star, also took notice of such online activities. Vijay’s manager, Anurag Parvataneni, and the president of Vijay Deverakonda’s fan association, Nishant Kumar, provided screenshots and information on social media groups and accounts involved in trolling, while registering the complaint.
The film’s producer, Dil Raju, also pointed out that he saw trolling online about Deverakonda’s character, Govind, wearing Birkenstock sandals. “You can easily find dupes of everything designer for cheap rates now,” he said while defending the character wearing expensive footwear.
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A post shared by Vijay Deverakonda (@thedeverakonda)
Raju, in a conversation with TV9, also claimed that despite negative online reactions, audiences have responded positively to Family Star, calling for measures to curb early reviews in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. “The family audience is loving the film. They’re enjoying the film. We have made a good film, and everyone I meet is confused as to why the film is getting such negative reactions. I heard in Kerala they’re debating on curbing reviews the first few days of a film’s release. Something similar needs to happen in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana. People don’t understand how much it affects producers. It’s not okay to rub your opinion on others (sic).”
Meanwhile, critics cited Family Star’s unoriginality and lacklustre writing as contributing to its shortcomings, with Vijay Deverakonda’s portrayal of a middle-class man weighed down by responsibilities yet performing superhuman feats failing to engage the audience.
Directed by Parasuram Petla, Family Star is Deverakonda’s second collaboration with the director after their 2018 hit Geetha Govindam. It earned approximately Rs 11.95 crore at the box office in three days, according to trade tracker Sacnilk.
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