Bollywood director Siddharth Anand appeared to take a playful dig at Prabhas and filmmaker Sandeep Reddy Vanga while wishing Shah Rukh Khan on his birthday. 

On Sunday, the 47-year-old shared a picture with SRK and wrote, “When stars go beyond being ‘just a superstar’ they are called (Crown emoji). Happy Birthday INDIA’s KING.”

Fans quickly connected his words to a recent controversy around Vanga’s upcoming film Spirit, starring Prabhas. 

The teaser for the movie, released on October 25, referred to Prabhas as “India’s Biggest Superstar,” a claim that sparked backlash from the Jawan actor’s fans online. Many users believed Siddharth’s post was a subtle jab at that title.

Social media was soon flooded with reactions. One user joked, “No Vanga was harmed,” while another commented, “He’s taking a dig at the Spirit announcement.” Others described it as “the battle we need – Vanga vs Sid.”

Earlier the same day, Siddharth released the first look of King, his upcoming action film starring Shah Rukh Khan. 

In the teaser, the actor is seen in a dark, intense avatar, saying lines about crime and fear: “Hazaar jurm, 100 deshon me badnam... duniya ne diya sirf ek hi naam.”

The teaser features Shah Rukh in silver hair, surrounded by chaos and bloodshed, performing high-octane stunts. 

The film also stars Suhana Khan, Deepika Padukone, Rani Mukerji, Jaideep Ahlawat, Abhishek Bachchan, Arshad Warsi, Anil Kapoor, and Raghav Juyal.