Gandhi lacked sense of democracy and Nehru decency: Vijayendra Prasad at Biffes

Vijayendra Prasad announced that he will soon be directing a film on the right-wing nationalist organisation RSS

Criticising M K Gandhi for not choosing Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as the first prime minister of India, RRR-fame screenwriter Vijayendra Prasad said that Gandhi lacked the "sense of democracy". "If Nehru had any decency and self respect, he would not have accepted the PM post against the wishes of the majority of Congress leaders", claimed Prasad, who was last year nominated to Rajya Sabha by the Modi government.

He was speaking virtually at a screenwriting session held as part of Bengaluru International Film Festival (Biffes) here on Saturday.

Vijayendra Prasad announced that he will soon be directing a film on the right-wing nationalist organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) which will be celebrating its centenary in 2025. "My son S S Rajamouli loved the script, but he will not direct it," Prasad clarified.

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80-year-old Prasad, who had written scripts for blockbusters such as Baahubali, Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Magadheera, etc, stressed on the art of screenwriting in the later part of the session, focusing more on his recent film RRR which won an Oscar earlier this month. The dance number Naatu naatu, a worldwide sensation, triumphed in the Best Original Song category at the Academy Awards.

"Unlike Indian film industries, if a writer gives one hit in Hollywood, he does not need to work anymore as he will keep on getting royalties. However, those Hollywood production firms which work in India do not treat the screenwriters the same way as they do there. They still possess colonial mindset," noted Prasad.

He advised the film enthusiasts to interact more with filmmakers, artists and technicians during the festival rather than only watching the films. When asked about his emotional connection with the characters he had written, he said he roots for Kattappa because of the pain and helplessness of the character in Baahubali franchise films.

He also narrated a funny anecdote when a security official in an airport refused to give him the boarding pass unless he told him "why Kattappa killed Baahubali".

Revealing details of his future projects apart from the film on RSS, Prasad said that he is also currently working on scripts based on 17th century Ahom commander, Lachit Barphukan, Chhatrapati Shivaji, Subhas Chandra Bose's Indian National Army, Article 370 etc - incidentally all right-wing historical pet projects.