Prabhas’ birthday drop for Fauzi is no longer just a teaser. Days after the clip went live, it has drawn a formal demand from Chandra Kumar Bose, grandnephew of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, who wants the promo pulled down, corrected and released again.
The teaser, titled File No. 25, dropped on October 23 to mark the actor’s 47th birthday. It is set in Berlin in 1942 and places Netaji in a fictional conversation with Adolf Hitler before introducing a spy named Fauzi, played by Prabhas.
What the teaser shows
In the fictional exchange, Hitler says Indians are accustomed to being ruled after two centuries of British rule. Bose then describes an Indian superspy who helped Japan defeat the British and take Singapore, and reveals that the spy has created a secret code inspired by the Bhagavad Gita. The video cuts to a rugged-looking Prabhas, smoking and firing a large gun at an unidentified target.
The family’s demand
Chandra Kumar Bose posted a letter addressed to Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and tagged director Hanu Raghavapudi. He asked for the teaser to be pulled and corrected, and to be released again only after the family’s concerns are addressed. He also wrote:
“We take strong offence to this trivialisation of Netaji.”
He questioned how the Censor Board could clear such content and called for an investigation and exemplary punishment for those responsible on the board.
Key points from the objection
- The teaser was released on October 23, the 83rd Balidan Diwas of revolutionary leader Bhagabati Charan Panigrahi, an associate of Netaji.
- Netaji — the Supreme Commander of the Indian National Army and the first Prime Minister of undivided India — is shown speaking to Hitler before a fictional spy is introduced.
- The family wants the clip pulled down, corrected and re-released, and wants the Censor Board clearance reviewed.
Why the row matters
Period films often blend real history with fiction for scale, but placing a national icon inside an invented negotiation can turn a promo into a debate about legacy, not just casting or VFX. For Prabhas fans, the pushback arrives alongside praise for the teaser’s action and presentation; the disagreement is less about the star and more about where creative liberty should stop.
The teaser has drawn mixed reviews, with many praising the larger-than-life treatment and others criticising the depiction of Bose and Hitler. The makers of Fauzi are yet to respond to Chandra Kumar Bose’s letter. Their next move — a statement, a re-edit or silence — will set the tone for the film’s promotional run.
Source: Bollywood Bubble
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