The post was termed insensitive and derogatory by users.
A recent post by actor Prakash Raj on India's Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 has sparked outrage on social media. The 58-year-old's illustration of an old Malayali joke about a tea seller on the Moon has been seen by some on X, formerly known as Twitter, as a sarcastic and derogatory swipe at the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
He has now reacted to the backlash, clarifying it was "a joke of Armstrong times" in reference to the people of Kerala.
"Hate sees only Hate.. i was referring to a joke of #Armstrong times .. celebrating our kerala Chaiwala .. which Chaiwala did the TROLLS see ?? .. if you dont get a joke then the joke is on you .. GROW UP #justasking," read his new tweet.
The actor earlier shared a post on social media featuring a cartoon that depicted a man pouring tea.
The post was termed insensitive and derogatory by users who urged him to show respect for the scientists responsible for India's historic Moon mission.
"Chandrayaan-3 is something the whole of India must be proud of, irrespective of political ideology. Know the boundary between political vs national trolling," wrote one user.
"There is a difference between hating someone and hating your country. So sad to see this state of yours!" wrote another.
"This is tragically sad. The work of ISRO and Chandrayaan-3 are one of those rare things which ignites sparks of unity, passion and optimism in a billion hearts. If you can't celebrate that, then your hate for an individual is more intense than your love for the nation," wrote one person.
"Never let hate consume you so much that you begin to hate the progress, achievements, and endeavours of your country and your own people," shared another.
However, one user pointed out that the post is a referencee to an old joke that "predates anyone you feel he is insulting".
"Those who know only hate will see only hate. If it makes any difference, Prakash Raaj is referencing a joke (that predates anyone you feel he is insulting) about how we find Keralites in every corner of the world and how the first thing Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin saw when they stepped foot on the moon was a Malayali selling tea there. This is a classic joke made by us Keralites about ourselves and we wholeheartedly accept and laugh about it for decades. Now, if you have to insist on sticking to hate even after it has been explained to you, that says a lot about you, doesn't it?" the user wrote with a photo of a tea seller, apparently a Malayali, on the Moon with an astronaut on the fore.
Prakash Raj is a vocal critic of the ruling party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He ran as an independent candidate in the Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha constituency in the 2019 Indian general election but lost.
Chandrayaan-3 was launched into space by the LVM3 rocket from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on July 14 and entered lunar orbit on August 5. It is expected to make a soft landing on August 23.