Iranian diplomatic accounts have found an unusual way to communicate political messages online: Indian cinema. From Sanjeev Kumar’s iconic Thakur in Sholay to Prabhas’ Amarendra Baahubali and Nandamuri Balakrishna’s character in Bhagavanth Kesari, Indian film scenes have recently appeared in posts linked to Iran’s messaging on international affairs.
The latest example came on September 30, when the Iranian Embassy in India shared a meme featuring Sholay‘s Thakur while taking a swipe at the United Nations. The pattern is notable because the references have come from different eras and different Indian film industries, but each has been used to convey an idea of strength, resistance or perceived powerlessness.
Iran Uses Sholay’s Thakur To Take A Swipe At UN
The latest post juxtaposed Marvel’s Doctor Strange with Thakur Baldev Singh from the 1975 classic Sholay. The first image showed Doctor Strange with multiple arms and was labelled “UN according to school books”. The second showed Thakur, played by Sanjeev Kumar, with the caption “UN in reality”.
The visual reference draws on one of the most recognisable aspects of Thakur’s story. In Sholay, Thakur loses both his hands after his confrontation with Gabbar Singh. The Iranian Embassy used that imagery to portray the United Nations as lacking the ability to act effectively in the real world. The post did not identify a particular UN resolution or crisis in the meme itself.
The choice of Sholay is also significant from an Indian cinema perspective. Released in 1975, the film remains one of the most recognisable titles in Hindi cinema, while Thakur remains one of its most remembered characters.
Before Thakur, Iran Turned To Prabhas’ Baahubali
Just a day earlier, another Iranian diplomatic account had brought Telugu cinema into the same broader conversation. The Iranian Consulate in Hyderabad shared a battle sequence from SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali: The Beginning, featuring Prabhas as Amarendra Baahubali.
The scene shows Baahubali facing the Kalakeya army despite being heavily outnumbered. The Consulate paired the clip with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s message from his United Nations General Assembly address that Iran would not “bow” or “bend the knee”. The cinematic scene therefore became a visual representation of resistance and refusing to surrender. The choice also had a direct Indian connection. The post came from Iran’s diplomatic mission in Hyderabad, a city closely associated with Telugu cinema.
Bhagavanth Kesari Was Another Unusual Choice
The Baahubali post was not the first recent example. Earlier in September, Iran’s Embassy in Zimbabwe used a sequence from Nandamuri Balakrishna’s Bhagavanth Kesari while responding to remarks by US President Donald Trump concerning Iran.
The post used a 58-second action clip from the 2023 Telugu film alongside a message arguing that Iran was not defenseless. The choice created another unexpected crossover between Indian cinema and international politics. Interestingly, the Iranian post referred to the footage as “Bollywood”, although Bhagavanth Kesari is actually a Telugu-language film directed by Anil Ravipudi. The film was later made available to Hindi-speaking audiences in dubbed form.
That detail also shows how Indian cinema’s regional industries can become part of global pop-culture conversations even when audiences outside India may broadly classify them as “Indian movies” or “Bollywood”.
Why Is Iran Choosing Indian Cinema?
The recent posts suggest a simple advantage of using film imagery online: a familiar cinematic scene can communicate an idea almost instantly. A conventional diplomatic statement may require several paragraphs to explain a position. A recognisable film scene can establish the intended visual metaphor within seconds.
In the Baahubali example, the image of one warrior facing a much larger force creates an immediate association with resistance. In the Sholay meme, Thakur’s missing arms provide the visual shorthand for the Iranian Embassy’s criticism of the UN’s perceived inability to act.
And in Bhagavanth Kesari, a dramatic confrontation was used to accompany a message that Iran was not defenseless. These posts also fit the way political communication increasingly works on social media, where memes, short videos and familiar pop-culture references can travel beyond traditional diplomatic audiences.
From Bollywood To Telugu Cinema
Perhaps the most striking part of Iran’s recent posts is the range of Indian cinema being used. Sholay represents classic Hindi cinema and a film released more than five decades ago.
Baahubali represents the modern pan-Indian blockbuster era, with Prabhas’ character becoming familiar to audiences well beyond Telugu-speaking regions. Bhagavanth Kesari comes directly from Telugu cinema and features one of the industry’s biggest stars, Balakrishna.
Together, the references show how Indian cinema provides a large pool of instantly recognisable visual symbols for audiences online. For Indian viewers, the references also carry an additional layer of familiarity. People who know the films do not need the diplomatic message explained at length to understand why a particular scene was selected.
Indian Cinema Finds An Unexpected Diplomatic Role
Iran’s recent posts do not appear to be part of a single formally announced cultural campaign. Instead, they have emerged through different diplomatic accounts responding to different international developments.
Yet the repeated use of Indian film imagery has created a noticeable pattern. Within days, Iranian diplomatic social-media accounts moved from Balakrishna to Prabhas and then to Sanjeev Kumar’s Thakur.
What began as familiar movie imagery has consequently become part of an unusual intersection between Indian entertainment and international political communication. And for Indian cinema, it is another reminder that a scene created for a film can acquire a completely different meaning when it leaves the screen and enters the world of social media.
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Sunny Singh is a Journalist and Content Writer with a strong affinity for Bollywood and Hollywood insiders, music and more. Somewhat of a writer and poet himself, he thrives on giving life to words and deliver all you need to know about the entertainment sector.
