'Thalapathy' Vijay treated fans to three different posters from his next big film, Varisu, on his birthday earlier this week on June 22, which have received a stunning response on social media. Currently in production and announced for a grand Pongal 2023 theatrical release, the upcoming film being directed by Vamshi Paidipally under Dil Raju's Sri Venkateswara Creations banner has run into some controversy after claims were made by some fans on media stating that the first look poster had been copied from an advertisement of leading apparel brand OTTO Store featuring an image of Malayalam actor Dulquer Salmaan. With many since then calling out the Varisu team and subjecting them to trolling on social media by drawing comparisons with the said advertisement, OTTO has now issued a strong statement addressing the controversy. 

Taking to Instagram, the official OTTO page shared a collage of Vijay's Varisu first look poster and the morphed image of Dulquer and said in their statement: "This is an official announcement from Otto: We, at Otto, are committed to originality and don't take Intellectual property infringement lightly. The above image is not in any way related to Otto and was created by some meme creators, only for entertainment purposes. We would like to wish the Varisu team a good luck from our side!" Check out OTTO's post below: 

 

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A post shared by OTTO Clothing Pvt Ltd (@ottostore_com)

With the controversy over the Varisu first lookposter  now laid to rest, fans are now looking forward to the team completing the film in quick time ahead of its release in January next year. Billed to be a wholesome family entertainer, the film will also star Rashmika Mandanna opposite Vijay for the first time alongside an ensemble cast featuring the likes of Prakash Raj, Prabhu, Sarathkumar, Jayasudha, Yogi Babu, Shaam, Sangeetha Krish, Srikanth, and Bigg Boss 4 fame Samyuktha Shanmughanathan in crucial roles, with the music and background score being composed by Thaman. S.