Many in the industry have praised Aryan Khan’s highly awaited directing debut, The Bads of Bollywood, for its incisive satire, audacious writing, and humorous perspectives of Bollywood’s inner workings. Streaming now on Netflix, The Bads of Bollywood has been especially scrutinized for its sharp satirical barbs against nepotism, star culture, and the politics of the industry. Yet, in contrast to the overall acclaim, a brief moment has spurred intense discussion- a blink-and-you-miss-it text message on screen reading “Pushpa sucks.”

Pushpa S*cks

The text message is presented as part of in-story dialogue of a character named Shaumik and nonchalantly disparages the blockbuster Telugu film Pushpa: The Rise, starring Allu Arjun. The line lasts a second, yet it has circulated across social media with fans dissecting whether it was an intentional jab at South Indian cinema or simply throwaway humor.

There are many comments publicly from viewers that Aryan Khan and his team most likely included that line as a humorous take on how audiences can be divided due to fan wars and the casual trolling that happens online about those fan wars. In that sense, the mention of “Pushpa” could be less about the film being disparaged and instead showing imagery around fan culture that invites toxic discourse on social media. But others saw it as a needless slight and argued that Pushpa was already an acclaimed film and has tremendous popularity in India and states beyond.

A Great Debut?

The controversy implied a larger tension in Indian cinema around the dialogue between Bollywood and regional films. With South Indian films becoming notorious for their dominance at the pan-India box office, the possibility that the mention of “Pushpa” could be misinterpreted as a jab that continued the perception of Bollywood rivalries with its regional counterparts may have been unintentional.

While Aryan Khan has yet to publicly comment on the moment, the controversy illustrates the impact of satire based on even the smallest of details and how those details can become widespread conversations throughout the country. Regardless of the occurrence being a short playful exchange, social satire, or an unwise jab, the scene involving “Pushpa sucks” has allowed The Bads of Bollywood to be framed as something to watch in its own right, and to be debated online with such fervor, that the engagement indicates a viewership of a short docu-series about popular culture.

Also Read: Top 5 Deepika Padukone–Shah Rukh Khan Films: Which Film Earned Most?

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