Director Vishnu Vardhan is awaiting the release of his 10th directorial Nesippaya, starring Akash Murali and Aditi Shankar in the lead, which will be out in theatres on January 14 for Pongal.

The director was dragged into a controversy for his statement about Rajinikanth's Billa during a pre-release interview for Nesippaya.

Vishnu was talking about the Rajinikanth film, which he later remade with Ajith starring in the titular role. He made a claim that though the 1980 film is being enjoyed today, it was not a successful film back when it was initially released. He further adds that he was drawn to remake the film due to the idea of writing a "dark role" for a popular star.

His statement invited criticisms from Rajinikanth fans and other cinema fans, with some users posting paper cuttings of the film's success from newspapers.

Rajinikanth's publicist Riaz Ahmed lodged his protest over the statement and requested the director discuss the matter with Billa's producer, Suresh Balaji and called the film a "silver jubilee hit." He also urged the video jockeys to verify the accuracy of statements made during interviews to uphold media integrity and foster a culture of "transparency and accountability."