The teaser of Prabhas-starrer ‘Fauzi’ has drawn sharp criticism from Chandra Kumar Bose, grandnephew of Indian freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose, who has accused the filmmakers of distorting history by blending real historical figures with fiction, states NDTV.
In a post on X on Monday, Chandra Kumar Bose called the approach a crime and urged director Hanu Raghavapudi and production house Mythri Movie Makers to withdraw the teaser and release a revised version that does not misrepresent historical events.
“Mixing fiction with history is a crime,” he wrote, also urging Prabhas to take note of the controversy.
The backlash began after the makers released the teaser on 23 October to mark Prabhas’ 47th birthday. The video features a dramatised meeting between Subhas Chandra Bose and German dictator Adolf Hitler in Berlin in 1942.
In the sequence, Bose speaks about Prabhas’ fictional character, presenting him as a spy and soldier who helped undermine British intelligence.
The scene has drawn criticism from viewers who argue that using Netaji to praise a fictional protagonist diminishes the historical figure’s role. Some social media users have demanded that the makers remove the sequence and issue an apology.
Others have defended the film, arguing that ‘Fauzi’ is a fictionalised period drama and should be viewed as a work of cinema rather than a factual account.
Directed by Hanu Raghavapudi and backed by Mythri Movie Makers, ‘Fauzi’ also stars Imanvi and Anupam Kher. The film is scheduled to release in theatres on 19 March 2027.
The filmmakers had not publicly responded to Chandra Kumar Bose’s demand at the time of publication.
