Naga Chaitanya's Custody was released in theatres in 2023. The film, starring Chay as a constable, was a disaster at the box office.
Director Venkat Prabhu recently attributed the film's shortcomings to a necessary alteration made to cater to Telugu audiences. Apparently, the director had infused an upper caste-lower caste narrative. The caste element was junked by him after he was advised to do away with it, given the Telugu audience don't prefer caste-based action dramas. Venkat Prabhu believes that Custody could have been a box office success in Tamil if the caste element had been retained.
It is evident that Kollywood directors have run out of ideas. The only element they can think of to perk up their outdated stories is caste. Caste and atrocity narratives are their only creative clutch. They don't even make an attempt to invent new themes and styles. If the audience reject their movies, they blame the audience. Custody had just too many flaws. It was a dull movie through and through. Even the chemistry between Naga Chaitanya and Krithi Shetty was desperately bad.
