Ayushmann Khurrana and Rashmika Mandanna’s horror-comedy Thamma has stormed past ₹125 crore worldwide, but the film’s three item songs (Poison Baby, Kiss Me Baby, and Amina) have ignited a firestorm on social media, with netizens branding them “regressive” and “item-number overload”. Director Aditya Sarpotdar, fresh off Munjya’s success, dismissed the outrage in a fiery interview with SCREEN magazine on Wednesday, calling it “selective hypocrisy”. “The same audience who made ‘Taras’ and ‘Aaj Ki Raat’ viral anthems now suddenly has a problem with three songs? Give me a break,” he said.
Sarpotdar revealed each track is integral to the 200-year-old vampire’s journey, not random glamour bait. Poison Baby erupts during the vampire’s first nightclub hunt in Goa, Kiss Me Baby captures his clumsy attempt at modern romance, and Amina becomes the emotional climax when Rashmika’s character turns predator. “These songs are narrative bridges between centuries; judge after watching the film, not the reels,” he challenged critics who hadn’t stepped into theatres yet.
The numbers speak louder than tweets: the three songs have collectively crossed 450 million YouTube views in six days, with Amina alone trending at No. 1 globally for 72 hours straight. Trade analyst Taran Adarsh declared Thamma the fastest horror-comedy to hit ₹100 crore domestically, predicting a ₹200-crore weekend. Producer Dinesh Vijan celebrated by dropping a behind-the-scenes video of the 47-night schedule, captioning it: “We bled for this madness, and the box office is drinking it up.”
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Rashmika Mandanna went live on Instagram laughing off trolls: “People are cancelling us for three songs but booking tickets in dozens; actions speak louder than hashtags.” Ayushmann added fuel by posting a shirtless still from Poison Baby with the caption: “Vampire who respects consent but apparently not the woke police.” The controversy has only turbo-charged footfalls, with advance bookings for the second weekend already surpassing opening day in major chains.
As Thamma heads for a historic ₹250-crore finish, Sarpotdar teased Maddock’s next horror-comedy, Shakti Shalini, promising “five musical set pieces and zero apologies.” In an industry where outrage often kills films, Thamma has proved that sometimes the best response to cancel culture is a blockbuster that refuses to stay cancelled.
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