Iran turns to Prabhas' Baahubali after Pezeshkian's 'never bow' UN speech
Prabhas and SS Rajamouli's Baahubali has made an unexpected appearance in a geopolitical conversation. The Iranian Consulate in Hyderabad shared a dramatic battle sequence from SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali: The Beginning after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s address at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), drawing a cinematic parallel to his message of resistance: “We will never bow our heads or kneel down.”advertisement❮❯ Read Full StoryWhy did Iran share a Baahubali clip?The video shared by the Consulate features Amarendra Baahubali, Prabhas, taking on the Kalakeya army in one of the most recognisable battle sequences from the 2015 Telugu epic. The character stands his ground despite facing a much larger opposing force.
The Consulate paired the scene with a quote from Pezeshkian’s UNGA speech, writing on X, “Iranian President Dr. Pezeshkian at UNGA: ‘We will never bow our heads or kneel down (sic).’”Dr. Pezeshkian, President of I.R #Iran at UNGA: "Will never bow our head or bend the knee"Like Baahubali standing against the Kalakeyas, we also shed our own blood in sacrifice for the homeland. pic.twitter.com/xc1S9H346Q— Iran In Hyderabad (@IraninHyderabad) September 27, 2026
The choice of Baahubali was enough to turn a political statement into an unexpected Telugu-cinema moment online. The post quickly drew reactions from Indian social media users, many of whom were amused by the Hyderabad-based Iranian Consulate using one of Indian cinema’s most recognisable mass moments to convey its message.
One user wrote, “The Iranian social media game is much better than other nation state.” Another posted, “I never expected Iran's consulate doing Baahubali edits.” A third referred to it as a “Baahubali movie reference in Geopolitics amidst current Iran-US war.” Another joked, “Babe wake up, Iran hyderabad has started posting bangers for some reason.”What did Masoud Pezeshkian say?
Pezeshkian addressed the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 23, with tensions between Iran and the United States forming a key backdrop to his remarks.
The Iranian President spoke against sanctions, threats and pressure on his country, stressing that Iran would not surrender under such circumstances. His remarks came a day after US President Donald Trump’s UNGA address, which also included comments on Iran.
“Those who are terroristsdescribe us using that word,” he countered. Addressing the Assembly, Pezeshkian held up a picture of former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whom he said was “assassinated without any legal framework or reason” in a joint US-Israeli strike last February.
He then displayed images of children he said were killed in US-Israeli attacks on a school and a sports hall, along with photographs of their graves. “They were innocent. They had committed no crimes,” he stressed, before declaring, "We have been the victims of terrorism.”
Pezeshkian also rejected allegations that Iran has been a source of regional instability, saying the country had not attacked another country or territory for the past two centuries.
“We did not bend the knee; we did not bow our heads. We responded, but we did not hit civilian populations,” he said.
It was against this backdrop that the Iranian Consulate chose the Baahubali sequence to amplify the message of refusing to yield to pressure.Prabhas and Baahubali’s global reach
Released in 2015, Baahubali: The Beginning followed Shivudu, played by Prabhas, as he discovered his connection to Mahishmati and the legacy of Amarendra Baahubali. Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, Tamannaah Bhatia, Ramya Krishnan, Nasser and Sathyaraj were also part of the cast.
The film became a major success beyond Telugu-speaking markets and established Baahubali as one of Indian cinema’s most celebrated franchises. Its story continued with Baahubali 2: The Conclusion in 2017.
Now, more than a decade after the first film introduced Amarendra Baahubali to audiences, one of his biggest battle sequences has found an unlikely new context — an Iranian diplomatic message from Hyderabad.- EndsALSO READ | Iran trolls Trump with Telugu action film, says US Prez watches too much Bollywood, not Hollywood
