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A fresh controversy has erupted between veteran actor Prakash Raj and the fans of Power Star and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, after the former criticized the latter’s recent comments about the Hindi language.

The controversy began when Pawan Kalyan, while speaking at an event in Chennai, stressed the importance of Hindi, calling it a unifying language across India. He stated,

“Telugu is our mother tongue, but our national language is Hindi. We speak Telugu at home, but we use Hindi when we step out. While the world is looking for reasons to divide, we are trying to unite through Hindi. All Indian languages — Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam — deserve respect. If Telugu is our mother, then Hindi is like our pedamma (mother’s elder sister).”

These remarks drew sharp criticism from Prakash Raj, who shared a clip of Pawan’s speech on social media, calling the statement “shameful.” He tweeted,

“Ee range ki ammukovadamaa.. chee, chee” (Selling yourself to this extent? Ugh… how shameful!) with the hashtag #justasking.

Prakash Raj’s tweet triggered a wave of outrage among Pawan Kalyan’s fans. Many took to social media to lash out at the actor, with some crossing the line into threats and abusive language. One user wrote, “We’ll beat you with slippers if we see you.” Another sarcastically referenced the upcoming film OG, in which both actors appear, implying that Pawan had physically attacked Prakash during filming.

In response, several fans accused Prakash Raj of hypocrisy, pointing out that he himself has acted in multiple languages, including Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, and Malayalam. They argued that if he truly opposed linguistic diversity, he wouldn’t have built a pan-Indian acting career.

To clarify the party’s stance, the Jana Sena Party released a video statement defending Pawan Kalyan’s speech. They asserted that his comments were not against regional languages but emphasized unity through mutual respect.

“Learning other languages doesn’t mean disrespecting your mother tongue. It means embracing unity while staying rooted in your identity,” the statement said.
“If learning other languages is wrong, how has Prakash Raj worked in multiple film industries?”

The incident has further intensified the polarizing political and cultural debate surrounding language identity in India — especially in the South, where sentiments over Hindi imposition remain sensitive.