Chandra Kumar Bose wants the Fauzi teaser withdrawn over alleged historical distortion.
The teaser depicts Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose meeting Adolf Hitler in Berlin in 1942.
Prabhas’ Fauzi introduces a fictional superspy using a code inspired by the Bhagavad Gita.
Actor Prabhas’ upcoming period action film Fauzi has landed in controversy after its teaser featured freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose in a conversation with Adolf Hitler. Chandra Kumar Bose, Netaji’s grandnephew and a socio-political activist, has urged the filmmakers to withdraw the teaser, arguing that the portrayal distorts historical events.
Subhas Chandra Bose’s grandnephew calls out Fauzi makers
The controversy gained attention after Suparno Satpathy, the great-grandson of writer Kalindi Charan Panigrahi and grandson of former Odisha chief minister Nandini Satpathy, shared the teaser on X. While praising the glimpse, he raised concerns about combining fiction with history.
“Dear @hanurpudi Garu, describing in one word this teaser is ‘goosebumps’ ... Mixing fiction with history isn’t a good idea …nevertheless, best wishes are for the release on 19 Mar ‘2027. Netaji Zindabad!! Jai Hind!!…SS,” Satpathy wrote.
Reposting Satpathy’s message, Chandra Kumar Bose called for the teaser to be taken down. “Mixing fiction with history is a crime. I hope @hanurpudi and his team @fauzithemovie / @MythriOfficial pull down this teaser, put out a new one and make sure that history is not distorted,” he wrote. He added, “Hope #Prabhas too gets to read this.”
Satpathy also responded to criticism that the film was fictional and should therefore be allowed creative freedom. He argued that cinema could influence generations and that portraying Netaji endorsing a fictional character risked distorting history.
What happens in the Fauzi teaser?
Released on October 23, Prabhas’ 47th birthday, the video titled File No 25 is set in Berlin in 1942. Bose approaches Hitler for help against British colonial rule and describes an Indian superspy who helped Japan defeat the British in Singapore. He also discusses a code inspired by the Bhagavad Gita.
The teaser ends with Prabhas’ dishevelled character smoking a cigarette while firing a massive gun. The depiction of Bose praising the fictional superspy has prompted criticism online.
Directed by Hanu Raghavapudi and backed by Mythri Movie Makers, Fauzi is scheduled to release in theatres on March 19, 2027.
