An old clip featuring director SS Rajamouli has emerged sparking renewed discussions about the rivalry between Bollywood and South Indian movies. In the footage Rajamouli draws a parallel between Prabhas and Hrithik Roshan which has gained traction after actor Arshad Warsis recent remark calling Prabhas a “joker” in his upcoming film Kalki 2898 AD.

The controversy began when Arshad Warsi, in a podcast show called Unfiltered With Samdish, slammed the casting of Prabhas in Kalki 2898 AD, saying, “Prabhas, I am really sad, why was he… he was like a joker. Why? I want to see a Mad Max. I want to see Mel Gibson over there. Tumne usko kya bana dia yaar. Kyu karte ho aisa mujhe nahi samajh mein aata (What have you made of it? Why they do such things, I never understand).” This has set social media abuzz as Prabhas's fans rose to the attack against Warsi, while some movie buffs supported the Asur actor's critique.

In the midst of the chaos an old video from 2007 has come back to light showing SS Rajamouli speaking highly of Prabhas while promoting Billa. In the clip Rajamouli commented, “When Dhoom 2 (2006) released in Hindi, I felt sad that Bollywood was getting good quality. Why don’t we have heroes like Hrithik Roshan? And today, after watching the song and poster of Billa, and now we watched the trailer, I want to say that Hrithik Roshan is nothing compared to Prabhas. Telugu cinema has become far better than Bollywood. And now we are equal to English films.”

@ssrajamouli If you cud blabber utter nonsense, then #ArshadWarsi is absolutely justified!
P.S: Acting, dance, physique, screen presence wise, #HrithikRoshan is miles ahead of #Prabhas .
Hrithik, the actor can't be compared to prabhas,the pretender

pic.twitter.com/EmHeEcDsiA

— Subha (@SHIBDU1193) August 20, 2024

In a talk with the media Rajamouli later explained that his remarks were not intended to offend Hrithik Roshan, someone he holds in high regard.

The resurfaced video has led to further online arguments, a user shared the video, captioning it, “@ssrajamouli If you could blabber utter nonsense, then #ArshadWarsi is absolutely justified! P.S: Acting, dance, physique, screen presence-wise, #HrithikRoshan is miles ahead of #Prabhas. Hrithik, the actor, can’t be compared to Prabhas, the pretender.”

Nohate to Hrithik fans, but #AlluArjun reportedly called #HrithikRoshan "useless" compared to #Prabhas! Why are some funding pages praising Allu while hating on Prabhas and only posting SSR video? And why the sudden video about Bollywood’s global change? #Prabhas #AlluArjun pic.twitter.com/4SckxBjMOU

— KRISH (@MostViolentMann) August 20, 2024

In a twist to the ongoing debate, a separate clip from the event features actor Allu Arjun supporting Rajamoulis remarks by saying, “Prabhas' looks are extremely good. He does great fights and is number one in all. As Rajamouli said, Hrithik Roshan is nothing in front of Prabhas. That’s true.”

The revival of these past remarks has furled the ongoing discourse between enthusiasts of Bollywood and South Indian films. In the meantime, Arshad Warsi is gearing up for his upcoming roles in Jolly LLB 3 and Welcome to the Jungle sharing the screen with Akshay Kumar and a cast of other stars.