A recent Reddit post has created a stir online after a young assistant director from the Telugu film industry alleged that the story of Telusu Kada starring Siddhu Jonnalagadda, Raashi Khanna and Srinidhi Shetty was stolen from him. The film, which became a massive disaster at the box office, is now facing new plagiarism accusations. However, these claims are unverified and there is no official proof or confirmation from anyone who has been named.
According to the Reddit post, the assistant director claims he narrated a female centric film concept to actress Samantha Ruth Prabhu in 2020. He shared a full synopsis and detailed character sketches. Samantha reportedly liked the idea and asked for more time before making a decision.
He further alleges that she later discussed the concept with stylist turned writer/director Neeraja Kona. He believes Neeraja Kona then adapted the idea into a male centric story and added elements like the estrogen, testosterone and nitrogen theme used in Telusu Kada.
The writer says he spent more than three years developing the screenplay. When he was ready to pitch it to other actors, he had Rashmika Mandanna in mind. At that point he realised that the core concept and several major plot points had already appeared in Telusu Kada.
He said this made his script unusable. He expressed frustration that his original and layered idea was turned into what he described as a shallow and male chauvinistic film. He also claimed the film cost Rs. 50 crore and incurred losses of Rs. 35 crores.
He shared screenshots to show that he had narrated the story to Samantha, Nani, Gowtam Tinnanuri and several producers.
It is important to note that these allegations may simply be rumors. There are no official statements, confirmations or evidence from Samantha, Neeraja Kona or the Telusu Kada team. Until proven, these remain unverified accusations.
