Iran Consulate uses Prabhas’ Baahubali to echo Pezeshkian’s UN message

DUBAI: Iran’s diplomatic missions appear to have discovered an unexpected way to communicate online — through Indian cinema.

Days after an Iranian embassy used a fiery scene featuring Telugu star Nandamuri Balakrishna to respond to US President Donald Trump, Iran’s Consulate in Hyderabad has now turned to Prabhas’ Baahubali following Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s address at the United Nations.

The latest post features one of the most memorable battle sequences from S.S. Rajamouli’s Baahubali: The Beginning, showing Prabhas’ character facing the Kalakeya army.

The consulate paired the clip with a reference to Pezeshkian’s remarks at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 23.

“President Dr Pezeshkian at UNGA: ‘We will never bow our heads or kneel down,’” the post said.

The unexpected combination of international diplomacy and Indian blockbuster cinema quickly caught attention online, with users reacting to the unusual Baahubali reference.

Balakrishna made the first appearance

This is not the first time an Iranian diplomatic mission has reached for Telugu cinema.

On September 23, the Iranian Embassy in Zimbabwe shared a 58-second action sequence from Balakrishna’s 2023 film Bhagavanth Kesari following Trump’s remarks about Iran at the UN.

The post featured Balakrishna’s character taking on armed attackers and carried a message saying Iran was “not defenceless”. It also jokingly claimed that the Americans had recently been watching “Bollywood instead of Hollywood”.

There was one entertaining detail: Bhagavanth Kesari is actually a Telugu-language film, not a Bollywood production. The mix-up was quickly spotted by Indian social media users.

The Iranian mission in Hyderabad later joined the conversation, sharing the same Balakrishna clip and praising Telugu cinema, saying: “Telugu movies are GOAT.”

Now, just days later, Prabhas has entered the picture with Baahubali.

Why Baahubali?

The clip comes from one of the defining action sequences in Baahubali: The Beginning, released in 2015. The film follows Shivudu, played by Prabhas, as he discovers his connection to the kingdom of Mahishmati and his royal family.

The film became a major pan-India success and was followed by Baahubali 2: The Conclusion in 2017.

With the latest post, Iranian diplomatic social media accounts have once again found a distinctly Indian pop-culture way to frame their messages — this time swapping Balakrishna’s larger-than-life action for Prabhas’ iconic Baahubali battle scene.

The consulate’s post has since given the 2015 film a rather unexpected role — as a pop-culture reference in a diplomatic message from Hyderabad.