Sai Dharam Tej’s ‘Ganja Shankar’ In TROUBLE! Telangana Anti-Narcotics Bureau Ask Makers To Change The Name Of The Film

Sai Dharam Tej’s upcoming Telugu film ‘Ganja Shankar’ is in legal trouble. While fans are eagerly waiting for official announcements and updates about the film, the Telangana Anti-Narcotics Bureau (TSNAB), on Saturday night, issued a notice to the makers of the film. According to a report by by the Free Press Journal, the notice was delivered to actor Sai Dharam Tej, director Sampath Nandi and producer S. Nagavamshi. 

As per the media publication’s report, TSNAB’s director Sandeep Shandilya has directed the creators to change the name of their film and remove the word Ganja from it. Posting the notice on their official social media handle, they captioned it, “Director @TS_NAB Issued Notice to #GANJASHANKAR film Crew raising objection over title & content depicting character as Ganja business, its glorification. Request film fraternity sensitize the concerned to refrain from glorifying sale, consume etc, of NDPS Substance. @TelanganaDGP.”

The notice indicates that legal action will be taken if the film contains inappropriate sequences which include the use of “ganja/narcotics or psychotropic substances.” It was in October 2023, that the movie’s makers published a video titled First High. The notice states that in the video, the protagonist is seen doing a “leafy vegetable business.” However, the “pictorials of Ganja plant are shown indicating that the leafy vegetable business done by the protagonist is Ganja.”

A part of the notice reads, “The government of Telangana is taking all measures to curb the menace of drugs which has been penetrating, especially among the students and youth. In your movie, depicting the protagonist character as a Ganja business and glorifying his acts and title itself 'GANJA SHANKAR' will create a negative impact on the viewers, especially students and youth.”

For the unversed, the action-entertainer ‘Ganja Shankar’ stars Sai Dharam Tej in the lead role. Details regarding the movie have been kept under the wraps by the makes of the film.