Fauzi teaser row: Netaji's grandnephew seeks apology over Hitler scene

Chandra Kumar Bose, a grandnephew of freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, has asked the makers of the Prabhas film Fauzi to apologise for a scene in its teaser that shows Netaji in conversation with Adolf Hitler. In remarks reported on Monday, October 26, 2026, he accused director Hanu Raghavapudi of distorting history and backed calls for the teaser to be taken down and replaced with a revised version. The teaser was released on Friday, October 23, 2026, Prabhas's 47th birthday, along with the news that the film will reach cinemas on March 19, 2027.

Fauzi is one of the biggest Indian films on next year's calendar, and its teaser was timed to the lead actor's birthday to draw the widest attention. That attention has now turned to a single scene. The teaser does not make clear how the meeting between Netaji and Hitler connects to Prabhas's character, according to reports describing it, and some accounts say the two men are shown discussing the hero. For a family member of Netaji, that blend of a real meeting and an invented hero is the core of the problem.

Chandra Kumar Bose has not argued that films about the freedom struggle should not be made. According to the reports, he accepts that filmmakers are free to tell such stories, but he says accuracy should not be given up for drama, and that a figure of Netaji's stature should not become a prop for a fictional plot. That position is narrower than a call for a ban: it targets one scene and asks for a correction and an apology.

The dispute touches a question Indian cinema faces often: how much creative freedom a historical drama may take with real leaders. Period films usually mix invented heroes with real events, and makers defend this as storytelling. Families and admirers of historical figures, in turn, push back when they feel a portrayal changes how the public sees a leader. With more than four months to go before release, the makers have time to respond, defend the scene, or change it, and how they handle it will shape the film's run-up.

Short-term: The teaser has given the film wide publicity, but the row adds pressure on the director and producers to answer the charge of distortion. Calls to pull or re-edit the teaser are likely to grow if political and public figures join in.

Long-term: If the makers change the scene, it may set an example for how big-budget period films handle real leaders in promotional material. If they keep it, the issue could come up again when the film is submitted for certification or nears release.

Who is affected: The film's director, producers and cast; Prabhas's large fan base across languages; Netaji's family and admirers; and viewers who will judge how the finished film treats history.

Questions and Answers