Ace director S S Rajamouli claimed that Telugu audiences always considered director Shankar as a Telugu filmmaker. “Telugu audience adored your movies for years and you have become a household name in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana,” says Rajamouli and adds, “I was bit surprised when Shankar sir said that he was making his debut in Telugu with ‘Game Changer’ but he has already gained enough respect from Telugu actors and directors for his eminent body of work,” he adds.
Rajamouli says he may have inspired some young directors to make big budgets and visually pleasing movies, but Shankar inspired him. “You are the uncrowned king and original gangster of big-ticket lavish movies and I was looking up to your work from my assistant director days,” he adds. He claims Shankar inspired makers to dream big and also be assured of returns and paved the way for pan-Indian movies. “He gave us the confidence to dream big without any qualms and make the kind of movies, we wanted to make and we are thankful to you sir,” he informs
He pats Ram Charan't the meteoric rise from ‘Magadheera’ to ‘RRR’ and vouches for his hard work and commitment. “I used to call him hero during the days of ‘Magadheera’ and I am happy that he has grown leaps and bounds. He is going to rock the audience with his performance as well as slam-bang action sequences and watch out for a great movie,” he concludes
