Since at least 2021, Allari Naresh has maintained that the scope for comedies has drastically come down in Telugu cinema. As per him, people get easily outraged these days, making it impossible to do a film like Kithakithalu in today's times. "If I were to act in a film like Kithakithalu today, they would put me in jail, accusing me of body-shaming a woman. Body-shaming is not what the film intended. It's about how a beauty-loving man comes of age in the film. The audience have become too sensitive. Loud comedy has been replaced with the subtle comedy of late," he said in 2021, in an interview ahead of the release of Bangaru Bullodu.
Naresh has reiterated his position this week. "I am scared of doing a film like Sudigadu 2. And I won't be doing a film like Kithakithalu either," he told Suma Kanakala in a chit-chat.
Sudigadu 2 would be a self-aware comedy satirizing typical Tollywoodian tropes associated with mass commercial entertainers. And many of those scenes will offend the fanatical fandoms out there. Sudigadu itself was a remake. So, for a sequel to be made, a Tamil director has to provide a template for us. KV Anudeep of Jathi Ratnalu fame made a self-aware satire on the film industry, in fits and starts, with Funky. The film failed miserably because, for the Telugu audience, a satire has to be either obvious like Sudigadu or outright cringe. Kobbari Matta was a spoof; most of its viewers didn't get it at all.
As for Naresh's lament that comedy has become a narrow genre these days, that's not because the audience have suddenly become woke. That's mainly because that brand of comedy has been provided by Jabardasth and content creators. As a result, the audience have started expecting movies to offer something way beyond. In any case, what is so awesome about Kithakithalu? As an X user puts it, "How is fat shaming/joking ok? Making jokes on people's difficulties is never ok and it is 200% possible to make a comedy movie without making jokes on body, colour, gender etc. Case in point: Jathi Rathnalu or Little Hearts."
