Director Harish Shankar is currently gearing up for the release of Ustaad Bhagat Singh, which is set to hit the screens on March 19, on the occasion of Ugadi. The film stars Pawan Kalyan in the lead, with Sreeleela and Raashii Khanna.

The makers are now preparing to unveil the trailer soon. In the meantime, Harish Shankar found himself at the centre of a controversy after a reply on social media drew criticism from Mahesh Babu’s fans.

During a conversation on X (Twitter), a fan of Pawan Kalyan suggested that Ustaad Bhagat Singh should surpass Mahesh Babu’s box-office records. Responding to the comment, Harish Shankar replied “Thadastu” (so be it). The reply quickly drew backlash from Mahesh Babu fans, who began trolling the director online. Harish Shankar later deleted the tweet.

Later, the director clarified that the reply was an unintentional mistake made while responding to fans in a hurry and stressed that he holds great respect for Mahesh Babu. He also issued an apology to the actor’s fans.

“I have immense respect for superstar Mahesh Babu garu. In fact, I have always believed that many records will be created under his name with Varanasi. This was an unintentional mistake with absolutely no intention to hurt him or his fans. You can even check the tweets I posted on his birthday about Pokiri to understand the love and respect I have for him. However, if that brief moment caused any hurt to people’s feelings, I sincerely apologise from the bottom of my heart,” Harish Shankar wrote in his apology note.