Here is why Superstar Krishna didn’t make controversial biopic

Superstar Krishna’s 1974 biographical action film ‘Alluri Seetarama Raju’ is considered a classic. It was a runaway hit, catapulting the actor to superstardom.

Not many know that the versatile actor wanted to make another biopic but didn’t: it’s a biopic on the 17th Century Maratha Emperor, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. What stopped Krishna from realizing his dream?

He feared controversies. “Alluri was a freedom fighter who fought the alien British. On the other hand, Shivaji wanted to establish a Hindu state by defeating Muslim rulers. The Britishers left India but Muslims are an integral part of our society. I didn’t want to stoke controversies by making a biopic on Shivaji,” Krishna said a few years before his demise. 

The actor’s comments prove at least one political point: a section of second-rate historians succeeded in popularizing the view that if you show Islamic rulers as villains, you are demonizing present-day Muslims. Another point that his apprehension proves is this: he lived in times when governments used to ban films/books at the drop of a hat. So, Krishna probably feared that a Shivaji biopic might be banned if made.