Amid Chandrayaan 3 tweet row, Prakash Raj slams 'dumb trolls': 'Our Malayali Chaiwaala...'

Actor-producer Prakash Raj has doubled down on his attack against his detractors for failing to understand the joke he had tweeted earlier ahead of Chandrayaan 3 landing on the moon. As the controversy around his tweet continued to rage, Prakash once again took to Twitter to dash off a strongly-worded sarcastic jibe at those who have been attacking him. 

"To all #DumbTrolls who have still not got the joke n asking what happened to our malayali #Chaiwaala .. he is very intelligent unlike you .. he has expanded his franchise to Mars n Jupiter .. coming soon on Pluto too .. catch him if you can (sic)," he posted on his social media page. 

ALSO READ: Did Prakash Raj insult Chandrayaan-3 mission? The actor disagrees, claims it was a nod to 'Kerala Chaiwala'

Earlier Prakash tweeted a caricature of a man in a caricature of a man in a lungi and shirt serving the tweet in connection with India's most ambuiotious lunar mission. "BREAKING NEWS:- First picture coming from the Moon by #VikramLander Wowww #justasking," he posted. 

The tweet, which was meant as a joke, soon snowballed into a major political controversy dominating headlines across the country. Many accused the seasoned actor of insulting the country's space exploration programme. And he also came under a lot of fire on social media as his post unleashed a wave of criticism. 

Even after four days, the issue refuses to die down as Prakash continues to be at the receiving end of the online trolling. He had clarified the rationale behind his tweet and even explained the joke's historical context. Prakash claimed that he only reshared an old joke about how astronauts Neil Armstrong Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin were caught off guard to see a Malayali running a tea shop on the moon. However, not many were ready to accept Prakash's explanation and accused him of expressing his "hatred." 

ALSO READ: Amid police investigation, Prakash Raj praises Chandrayaan-3 moon landing

Based on a complaint, the Karnataka police have also filed a case against Prakash and the investigation is on.