Jagapathi Babu
Jagapathi BabuTwitter

Senior actor Jagapathi Babu has opened up on walking out of Anil Ravipudi's Sarileru Neekevvaru starring Mahesh Babu. He said that he missed the team and wished them all the best.

It was director Anil Ravipudi who first announced the news about Jagapathi Babu opting out of Sarileru Neekevvaru. He had released a photo with an update on his walking out. He also wrote, "Thanks for understanding and we respect you sir @IamJagguBhai  #SarileruNeekevvaru."

"Jagapathi Babu garu loved the character in #SarileruNeekevvaru and he always wanted to be a part of the project. He did not walk out from the project. Unfortunately we could not make it happen due to unavoidable reasons. Looking forward to work with @lamJagguBhai garu very soon. Thanks for understanding the situation and for being very friendly sir," reads his statement featured on the photo.

The director's statement fueled speculations with some people spreading wild rumours on social media. Jagapathi Babu has now responded to Anil Ravipudi and said, "Thank you for the clarification @AnilRavipudi.." Later, the actor released a video message to clear air surrounding the latest development. He captioned the video with "Here's the clarification to all regarding #SarileruNeekevvaru issue."

In the video, Jagapathi Babu is seen saying, "The film industry is like my family and I don't like to talk about it in public. But I would like issue clarification about something. There was no such situation for 33 years, where I needed to give clarification on anything and this is for the first time it is happening. In the last couple of days, I have been reading about rumours that I walked out of Sarileru Neekevvaru."

Jagapathi Babu adds, "I really liked that character and even now, I am ready to play it even now. In fact, I have rejected two offers for this movie. But due to some situations, I had no choice than walking out of the project and such things are part and parcel of life. But still, I am missing that film and I wish all the best to the team."