The pre-release event of Laila, starring Vishwak Sen, has led to controversy following remarks made by actor Prudhvi Raj. Prudhvi Raj commented on his role involving goats in Laila where he made a veiled remark about the number of goats decreasing during the film’s shoot. While he did not mention any political party, YSRCP supporters viewed this as a dig on their party. His comments have drawn criticism from the supporters of YSRCP. The hashtag 'Boycott Laila' campaign has been trending online since Sunday. A few online users have even threatened to leak a pirated HD version of the film.
Responding to the backlash, Laila’s producer Sahu Garapati and lead actor Vishwak Sen spoke to the media on Monday. Garapati stated, “We were unaware of the ‘Boycott Laila’ trend until we saw it on social media. This did not happen under our notice. We request everyone to watch the film as just a film, as we have no control over what guests say at our events.”
Vishwak Sen expressed concern over the situation, highlighting that ‘Boycott Laila’ had already generated around 25,000 tweets. He also noted an X user’s claim of possessing the film’s HD print and threatening to release it online.
“I sincerely apologise for what happened. But if one person makes a mistake, does that mean the entire team should be blamed? He had no idea about Prudhvi’s comments, and they have nothing to do with the film. Should a movie’s fate be questioned just because of a few social media tweets? He spoke while we were outside welcoming Chiranjeevi gaaru, and it was beyond our control. We worked very hard on this film, and I am ending this discussion here. Please don’t hold us responsible for something we had no part in,” Sen said.