Following US President Donald Trump’s stern warning to Iran, the country has issued a bizarre and cinematic response. The Iranian embassy shared an action scene from the Telugu film ‘Bhagavanth Kesari’, starring Indian actor Nandamuri Balakrishna, to mock Trump’s statement. They used this clip to troll the US President on social media in response to his threat to “destroy Iran.” The video was shared on September 23 via the official X handle of the Iranian embassy in Zimbabwe. It states, “Trump talks about completely destroying Iran, but he knows that Iran is not helpless. We have learned that these days, they are watching Bollywood films instead of Hollywood movies.”
What was in this video clip?
In the 58-second clip, actor Nandamuri Balakrishna uses a manhole cover as a shield to protect himself from enemy gunfire and launches a counter-attack by throwing a gas cylinder. Through this, Iran sought to convey that it is capable of defending itself against enemy attacks and retaliating.
What threat did Trump issue to Iran? While addressing the UN General Assembly (UNGA), Trump stated that if no talks or agreements between the two nations succeed, the US would completely obliterate or destroy Iran. He would be left with no other option but to take stern action against Iran.
Iranian Embassy Makes a Major Error
However, the Iranian Embassy made a factual error in this post. The embassy referred to ‘Bhagavanth Kesari’ as a Bollywood film. But it is not a Bollywood film; it is a Telugu-language film and belongs to the Telugu film industry. After this post by the Iranian Embassy went viral, Indian users—particularly Telugu cinema fans—corrected the embassy, stating, “This isn’t Bollywood; this is Balayya Babu’s Tollywood.” As the controversy escalated, the Iranian Consulate in Hyderabad intervened to issue a clarification and acknowledged Telugu cinema as the “best.”
