Rajaratha controversy: Bhandari brothers apologize to audience for 'trash' comment

Bhandari brothers Anup and Nirup have made an unconditional apology for their comments against the audience. They had made a controversial remark against those who had not watched their recently-released movie Rajaratha, for which they came under attack after a clip from the video interview surfaced online.

In the interview, when asked what would they call those who would not watch Rajaratha, Anup Bhandari said: "Kachada nan maga." (Rough translation: trash or litter.) Avantika Shetty repeated the same comment and Nirup Bhandari went ahead and added, "Kachada loafer nan maklu,"

Although the complete video of their interview is not available, a short clip in which they are making comments has gone viral.

The siblings have since come under massive attack from netizens for their views. Many from the film industry have also expressed their displeasure at the comments.

Looking to end the controversy, Anup Bhandari tweeted: "I sincerely apologise if we have hurt anybody with our comments. It was definitely not our intention. Whatever we are is because of the audience. [sic]"

Anup Bhandari explained further on his Facebook page: "In every interview, we have credited the audience for our success. We have the highest respect for Kannada and Karnataka culture. Our love for the language is evident in every song of our movies."

The Bhandari brothers shot to fame with the blockbuster RangiTaranga in 2015. They united again for Rajaratha, which saw the light of the day recently. It is a bilingual film made simultaneously in Kannada and Telugu.