Dorothy hits Telugu screens October 2 as Chinmayi backs reporter over title question

Rana Daggubati is bringing Karthik Subbaraj's Tamil film Dorothy to Telugu audiences. The Telugu version opens in theatres across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on October 2. Rana is presenting it under his Spirit Media banner. Keerthy Suresh leads the cast, and Rishikanth also plays a key role.

Rana announced the release in Hyderabad with the film's team. At the event, a reporter asked why the film kept its original name for the Telugu release and what the word actually meant. Rana said Dorothy means "a gift from God" and is the name of a character in the film. He added that audiences would understand the choice once they watch it, and said he could not think of any other name for it.

A clip of the exchange soon spread online, and the reporter was trolled for not looking up the meaning first. Singer Chinmayi Sripaada stepped in on X to defend them. She explained that Dorothy is a character from The Wizard of Oz, a children's book from 1900, and argued that not every child grew up with the access or the luxury to read story books or even comics. "Some empathy would be great," she wrote.

According to reports, Chinmayi also replied to users who compared the issue with Tamil film titles, pointing out that Dorothy is not a Tamil word at all.

The film is set in the 1980s and follows two childhood friends whose lives take an unexpected turn when a woman enters them. Keerthy reportedly plays the title role. Dorothy has drawn criticism and boycott calls from some sections of social media over its queer themes. Reports say Karthik Subbaraj has answered the backlash by noting that some critics had not seen the film, and that Dhanush praised it as a "masterpiece" before its release.

The film reportedly received a standing ovation at the Toronto International Film Festival before reaching theatres in September. Reports also name Guneet Monga Kapoor, Achin Jain and Jyoti Deshpande as its producers.