Actor Prakash Raj faced massive trolling on Monday for a post, which was seen by many as mocking Chandrayaan-3. The actor, however, later clarified that he was referring to a joke of ‘Armstrong times’ and was celebrating Kerala’s tea-makers.
“Hate sees only Hate.. i was referring to a joke of #Armstrong times…celebrating our Kerala Chaiwala…which Chaiwala did the TROLLS see??…if you dont get a joke then the joke is on you…GROW UP #justasking,” the actor posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Earlier in the day, Raj shared a cartoon showing a man in a shirt and sarong pouring tea. He captioned the cartoon in Kannada, writing, “Latest news: First view just arrived from the Chandrayaan #VikramLander #justasking”.
The actor’s post did not go down well with some social media users, who got the impression that he was making fun of former ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) chief K Sivan. Also, the post came just two days after the space agency shared Moon’s latest images taken by a lander position detection camera onboard Chandrayaan-3.
Raj was slammed by many, including Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi. “I condemn Prakash Raj for this shameful tweet. Success of ISRO is success of India,” he wrote on X.
Ram, an entrepreneur, too targeted Raj and said he represented the worst of India. “ISRO represents the best of India. It achieved greatness in spite of meagre resources & a pessimistic atmosphere. ISRO ranks among the best now, attempting what only a handful of nations have achieved. This man represents the worst of India. Hates that nation that has given him so much.”
Yashwant Deshmukh, the founder of C-Voter, said Raj’s post was “tragically sad”. “This is tragically sad. The work of @isro and #Chandrayaan_3 are one of those rare things which ignites sparks of unity, passion, and optimism in a billion hearts. If you can’t celebrate that, then your hate for an individual is more intense than your love for the nation.”
While Raj faced massive public criticism, a social media user said the post was a funny way of teasing a Malayali about them reaching anywhere in the world before the rest of the Indians. “This is a classic example of how different the South and North are. Almost all South Indians will understand this picture. It’s a funny way of teasing a Malayali about them reaching anywhere in the world before the rest of Indians,” the user said.
Chandrayaan-3, launched on July 14, is set to touch down on the Moon’s south pole around 6:04 pm on August 23.
