Vijay Deverakonda says the hate against Ranabaali is paid, not real

Vijay Deverakonda says the wave of online negativity around Ranabaali is bought, not real. At the film's trailer launch on Thursday, the actor pointed to a flood of Reels that all tell viewers to pick Rajinikanth's Jailer 2 over his film.

"People can have opinions, but if you see the same opinion everywhere, it's manufactured," he said. He also had a warning for the people posting them. The attacks they are paid for today will be done by AI tomorrow, he said, so they should focus on making their own lives better.

Asked about the trolling he faces, Vijay made it clear he will not change for his critics. If someone reads his honesty as arrogance or his self-confidence as attitude, he asked, why should he step back? The ones who need to change, he said, are them.

Producer Y Ravi Shankar stood by the actor. He called Vijay a no-nonsense person who minds his own business, and said he had seen posts writing off Ranabaali before the trailer was even out.

The trailer sets Vijay up as Singanamala Bobbili Ranabaali, a man who takes on British rule while famine leaves his people starving. He speaks in Rayalaseema slang and gets brutal action blocks. Rashmika Mandanna plays the female lead, and Arnold Vosloo plays the villain.

Rahul Sankrityan directs, with music by Ajay-Atul and camera work by Jishnu Bhattacharjee and Nirav Shah. Naveen Yerneni and Y Ravi Shankar produce under Mythri Movie Makers, and T-Series presents. Ranabaali opens in theatres on October 16.