They Call Him OG: R Chandru Accuses Makers Of Pawan Kalyan's Film Of Taking 'Inspiration' From Kabzaa, Receives Backlash

Director

R Chandru, who directed the 2023 film Kabzaa starring Upendra, Shiva Rajkumar, Kiccha Sudeepa and Shriya Saran, has found himself in a controversial situation. The filmmaker is facing backlash after he accused the makers of Pawan Kalyan's They Call Him OG, of seeking inspiration from his film Kabzaa.

They Call Him OG Inspired From Kabzaa? R Chandru Accuses Makes Of Pawan Kalyan's Film

Recently, filmmaker R Chandru appeared on a YouTube interview to talk about his upcoming projects. During the conversation, he stated that several scenes from Pawan Kalyan’s They Call Him OG were inspired from his film Kabzaa. Although Kabzaa failed to make an impression at the box office, the director has revealed that his film was 'a successful project'. He said "Take a look at some scenes in OG trailer, and see how it is similar to my film Kabzaa...they are surely inspired from the film. It is good, we should all feel inspired from certain things...it is something to be happy about."

Soon, netizens took to the comments section to slam the filmmaker. One comment said "yes..like how you were inspired from KGF". Another user posted "still he believes in Kabzaa". For the unversed, the common criticism Kabzaa faced upon release is that it has similarities to the KGF films.

About They Call Him OG's OTT Debut

Directed and written by Sujeeth, They Call Him OG grossed Rs 155 crore worldwide on its first day of release, setting the biggest opening day numbers in India in 2025. In its entire theatrical run, the Pawan Kalyan action-drama earned Rs 190 crore net in India and grossed Rs 294 crore globally, becoming the highest-grossing Telugu film of 2025 and the eighth-highest grossing Indian film of the year 2025. Within a month after its release, They Call Him OG is set for its OTT debut on Netflix on October 23. The streaming giant took to its social media handle, shared the poster, and wrote, "Once upon a time in Mumbai, there lived a storm. And now, he’s back. Watch They call him OG, out 23 October on Netflix in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam."