I saw that there’s a new Telugu movie called Lenin. IMDB and Letterboxd say it’s about “The life of Russian communist revolutionary, Vladimir Lenin.” This appears to be a lie. Plot details are scarce, but it appears to be a rural action drama where we learn that “No war is more violent than love.”

Meanwhile, the old Chiranjeevi-starrers Hitler and Stalin are about neither Hitler nor Stalin. (The former is a remake of a Mammootty film about a guy named “Madhavankutty, locally known as ‘Hitler’ due to his tough character, domineering personality and his uncontrolled rage at the youngsters of the area.”)

Tamil cinema has also addressed this important issue. In a recent one I watched, Kaala, Rajinikanth scolds his son for being a socdem and then bemoans the fact that he named him Lenin. “I shouldn’t have named you after that great revolutionary, because now I can’t even bear to yell at you!”