Rajamouli, dad trying to hijack film on RSS, says Lahari Velu

An ambitious film about the RSS has run into rough weather, with the director of Bengaluru music recording company, claiming that director S S Rajamouli and his father are attempting to hijack the project.

Rajamouli, director of such blockbusters as RRR and Baahubali, said last week that he was moved to tears by his father V Vijayendra Prasad’s script.

“This statement left me in shock as he never spoke about how the project began in the first place,” said a disappointed Lahari Velu, director of Lahari Recording Company. “I was the one who commissioned the script, and I was all set to produce the film.”

Speaking exclusively to DH, Velu said the film was his brainchild. “In 2018, after the release of Baahubali 2, I was in Chennai when I got the idea of making a film on the RSS. I am an RSS member and wanted to make a film that would give a strong reply to the naysayers,” he said.

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Four years ago, Velu called up Vijayendra Prasad to ask if he was interested in writing the script.

“He had no clue about the organisation, but asked me to meet him in Hyderabad to discuss the project. Before I met him, I registered the film’s title. After our interaction, Vijayendra Prasad was thrilled and came on board as the writer,” Velu said.

Velu also said he was pained that Rajamouli and Vijayendra Prasad had not mentioned his name while talking about the film.

“I opened an office in Hyderabad and funded 15 writers to work on the script. Music composer Ricky Kej, whose father had RSS links, also came into the picture. Along with Vijayendra Prasad, we met RSS ideologue S Gurumurthy in Chennai to inform him about the project. He was excited,” he said.

As the scripting moved at a fast pace, Velu arranged a meeting for the pre-production team with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat. “I felt it was important to seek his permission. I met Bhagwat in Nagpur twice with Vijayendra Prasad and he was happy with how the script was turning out,” Velu told DH.

First choice

The project has now come up against a wall. For Velu, Rajamouli was the first choice to direct the film, but the director is working on a spy thriller with Mahesh Babu, and hasn’t agreed to work on the project. Sources say Vijayendra Prasad is keen on directing the film, but Velu is sceptical since he has not delivered any hits.