Well-known Telugu screenwriter and Rajya Sabha member Vijayendra Prasad, who has worked on major blockbusters like Baahubali, RRR and Bajrangi Bhaijaan, has said that work on his upcoming projects on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) will begin soon. Vijayendra Prasad, who is the father of filmmaker SS Rajamouli, said that he is going to helm both a film and a web series glorifying the RSS. Speaking at a book launch event of RSS National Executive Member Ram Madhav in Vijayawada on Tuesday, August 16, Vijayendra Prasad heaped praise on the RSS, and said that his formerly negative opinion of the organisation had changed since he was roped in to write a film on it.
It was first reported in 2018 that Vijayendra Prasad would be writing a film on RSS and people associated with it including KB Hedgewar, MS Golwalkar, Veer Savarkar, KS Sudharshan, Mohan Bhagwat and others. Vijayendra Prasad was invited as the chief guest at the launch of Ram Madhav’s book ‘Partitioned Freedom’ held at KVSR Siddhartha Pharmaceutical Science College Vijayawada, according to Sakshi.
Speaking at the event, he said, “I would like to confess something in front of you all. Until three or four years ago, I didn’t know much about the RSS. Like many others, I believed that they killed Gandhi. But four years ago, they asked me to write a film on RSS. As I was being paid for it, I went to Nagpur and met Mohan Bhagwat. I stayed there for a day and understood for the first time what RSS is. I felt a lot of remorse, that I wasn’t aware of such a great organisation for so long.” He went on to say, “If RSS wasn’t there, there would be no Kashmir, it would’ve merged with Pakistan. Lakhs of Hindus would have died due to Pakistan.”
He said he wrote the story within two months, and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat was happy with it. “I would like to announce some good news, that I am going to begin work on it soon. I am making a film and a web series on RSS,” Vijayendra Prasad announced. He added, “RSS has made one mistake, which is to not speak of itself to the public. I will make up for this shortcoming as much as I can. I promise I will ensure we can all boast about the greatness of RSS with pride.”
In a recent interview with Mid-Day, Vijayendra Prasad said that he would be directing the film, titled Bhagwa Dhwaj. He said that the compelling story of the RSS made him return to direction, and that casting was yet to begin for the film.
When news of the project first surfaced, The New Indian Express had reported that Akshay Kumar was likely to star in the film, and that it was likely to have a budget of Rs 100 crore with funding from a member of Karnataka BJP. Eighty-year-old Vijayendra Prasad was named as one of the Presidential nominees to the Rajya Sabha earlier in July. The official nomination statement read, “He has been instrumental in instilling cultural pride and nationalistic spirit through cinema.”