Actor Vijay Deverakonda has expressed mixed emotions after reviews and ratings for the Chiranjeevi-starrer Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu (MSVPG) were suspended on BookMyShow by court order ahead of the film’s release on 12 January. The move comes as a measure to prevent “organised negative campaigns and malicious ratings”.

Taking to X on Sunday, Deverakonda wrote: “Happy and sad to see this – happy to know the hard work, dreams and money of many are protected in a way. And sad because of the reality of our own people causing these problems. What happened to live and let live? And growing together?”

The actor recalled that his 2018 film Dear Comrade faced similar ‘organised attacks’.

“Since the days of Dear Comrade, I first began to see the shocking politics of organised attacks. My voice all these years fell on deaf ears – I was told nobody can stop a good film. And every producer and director who then makes a film with me soon realises the scale of the issue. I have stayed up many nights wondering what kind of people do this, and how to deal with them to protect my dreams and the dreams of many who will come like me and after me,” he added.

Deverakonda welcomed the court’s intervention, noting: “I am glad it is now out in the open and the court now recognises the threat to movies, even starring someone as big and powerful as Megastar himself. This will not solve the problem entirely but becomes one less thing to worry about. For now, let's wish #MSG and all other Sankrathi films do extremely well by entertaining us all during the holidays.”

The 36-year-old actor also shared a screenshot highlighting the restrictions on the online ticket-booking platform. Deverakonda has his next film, Rowdy Janardhana, in the pipeline.

Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu, co-starring Venkatesh, Nayanthara and Catherine Tresa, is a Telugu-language action-comedy written and directed by Anil Ravipudi. The film is produced by Sahu Garapati and Sushmita Konidela, with Chiranjeevi playing National Security Officer Shankara Vara Prasad.