The first look and motion poster of Megastar Chiranjeevi’s 152nd film, Acharya was unveiled recently and it opened to a great reception from the fans. Acharya is expected to be one of the biggest and important films in Chiranjeevi’s career and fans have pinned high hopes. Very recently, the makers of Acharya faced a plagiarism controversy, when an assistant director named Rajesh Manduri claimed that the story of Acharya has been copied from his, which he planned to make with Nandamuri Balakrishna in 2017. Rajesh Manduri stated that he narrated this story to the popular production house, Mythri Movie Makers. The fans were completely taken aback by this allegation and it created a huge buzz on social media.

Following that, the makers of Acharya have now released an official statement, denying all the allegations. It has been clearly mentioned that the story of Acharya has been originally penned by its director, Koratala Siva. The team’s official statement reads, “We wish to inform everyone that Acharya is an original story written and conceptualized by Koratala Siva alone. Any claims that the said story is a copy is baseless. It was only recently, on occasion of Megastar Chiranjeevi's birthday on August 22 that the title look poster of Acharya was launched. It gathered great love and support from all sections of the society. As the hype reaches its zenith, a couple of writers have now made false claims with respect to the story of the film. We have kept the story of the film confidential and only select few people are aware of what it is all about.

It is absolutely ridiculous that claims are being made based on the motion poster alone, We'd like to clear that this is an original story. It is unacceptable to defame a reputed filmmaker like Koratala Siva. In fact, the claims which are being made are unfounded and seem to be based on the speculative and rumoured stories in the print and electronic media. Therefore, any claims with respect to the story are completely baseless, false and are made solely on assumptions. Acharya movie is presented by Konidela Productions Company and Produced by Matinee Entertainment. The film is presently being shot. Acharya is one of the most anticipated films and the release is eagerly awaited. We are making all efforts to complete the movie at the earliest and present it to the audience.”.

Produced by Konidela Production Company in association with Matinee Entertainment, Acharya has music scored by Mani Sharma and cinematography by S Tirru. The shooting is expected to resume after the pandemic.

A press release from the team of #Acharya. pic.twitter.com/IVwf7vNpWf

— Konidela Pro Company (@KonidelaPro) August 27, 2020