Baahubali star Prabhas’ new Ramayana-based film a propaganda movie like Kashmir Files, says KTR

Asked if he had watched 'The Kashmir Files', KTR says he does not watch 'propaganda films', adding that 'as many as 15 such movies' are in the works.

Telangana minister K.T. Rama Rao | Twitter | @KTRTRS

Hyderabad: Telangana minister K.T. Rama Rao has described The Kashmir Files as a propaganda film, adding that Baahubali star Prabhas’s next — the 2023 release Adipurush — falls in the same bracket.

Slated for release next January, Adipurush is based on the Ramayana and stars Prabhas, Kriti Sanon and Saif Ali Khan in the lead roles.

KTR, the son of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, said he was sure the release of Adipurush would coincide with the opening of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

Asked if he had watched The Kashmir Files, KTR said he does not watch “propaganda films”, adding that “as many as 15 such movies” are in the works.

“I do not watch propaganda films because I think all the production houses which are aligned with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or its affiliates have been indulging in this for a while,” he added in an interview to ThePrint.

“Even before the last election, you saw a spate of movies which talked about ‘deshbhakti (patriotism)’ and how the Prime Minister was waiting sleeplessly to say that a Pakistan airstrike had happened or whatever. I watched Uri: The Surgical Strike movie, by the way,” he said.

Seeking to depict the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley three decades ago, The Kashmir Files has been widely promoted by the BJP with lavish praise and tax cuts. PM Narendra Modi is among those who have lauded the movie, while Opposition leaders have panned it for “inciting hate and distorting history”.

KTR (45), who is the minister for municipal administration and IT in the Telangana government, said The Kashmir Files, which has grossed over Rs 250 crore since its release, is being used by the BJP to divert attention.

“So, all of these movies are made because this propaganda machinery is at work. The country needs to realise that because the real issues of the country are not addressed, so to divert attention to other things, to make emotions run high, all these things are being done,” he added.

KTR on I-PAC, Prashant Kishor

KTR confirmed to ThePrint that his party, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), is working with political strategy firm I-PAC ahead of the 2023 assembly election.

CM Rao and KTR met Prashant Kishor at their residence Sunday.

Kishor is among the founding members of I-PAC but claims he no longer plays a role in the firm’s day-to-day affairs.

KTR also told ThePrint that the TRS will consider campaigning against the BJP ahead of the assembly elections in Gujarat. This, at a time when the BJP is in a position to replace the Congress as the primary opposition party in Telangana.

(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)