Cinema is an art form. Characters are created, and whoever portrays a character away from his personal image is called an actor. But Harish Shankar pitching the film Ustaad Bhagat Singh as a tribute to Pawan Kalyan in the first single song is raising eyebrows. That is a poor thought process and it can kill the craze surrounding the film.
Harish Shankar may think that fans will feel elated with a song highlighting Pawan Kalyan’s real-life nature (as he perceived), but he should understand that fans are not the only audience for a film.
OG became successful not just because of the fans, but because the wider audience appreciated the characterisation, the making, the music and the songs. The audience as a whole looked at OG as a creative work of art rather than as Pawan Kalyan’s personal projection.
But with the Ustaad “Aura” song there is huge backlash. First of all, the investment is made by a producer and not by Harish Shankar or Pawan Kalyan to make a self-glorification song. Some may say there is no problem if the producer also liked it, but it is frustrating and irritating for neutral audiences, and that is the key point to be understood.
Pawan Kalyan need not contest any election now as he is already the Deputy Chief Minister of a state. Why should he be personally elevated again through film promotions? This basic common sense appears to be missing.
Harish Shankar, DSP and others spoke very highly about Pawan Kalyan from public stages. If that is truly the case, why are the losses suffered by the victims of Hari Hara Veera Mallu not yet settled?
Not only that, Harish Shankar stated that Pawan Kalyan would never allow political dialogues or the insulting of opponents through his films. However, people have not forgotten one important instance. In the 2023 Telugu film Bro, starring Pawan Kalyan and Sai Dharam Tej, actor Prudhvi Raj played a character named “Syam Babu,” which was widely seen as a spoof of Andhra Pradesh minister of that time, Ambati Rambabu. The character’s dance movements closely resembled the minister’s viral dance video, which triggered a real-life political controversy and led to strong criticism from Ambati Rambabu against Pawan Kalyan.
When such examples exist, making exaggerated claims on public platforms invites questions from the audience and creates a perception of overaction and unnecessary projection.
Since Pawan Kalyan is in power in the state, the public will naturally be in a mood to question his shortcomings. In such an atmosphere, a song that excessively glorifies him will backfire.
Moreover, Harish Shankar’s self-projection is becoming too much. Presenting himself as a parallel to Pawan Kalyan is also not in good taste and it indicates overcompensation. He is a director and his strength lies behind the scenes. He need not carry the promotions with his pictures, when already Pawan Kalyan is the lead.
At least now, the style of promotions should change. Focusing more on the film’s content and on the character played by Pawan Kalyan, with much less projection of Harish Shankar, would bring some positivity to the film. Otherwise, it may end up generating continuous trolling and could affect Harish Shankar’s career as well.
Usha Chowdhary
