The Indian Air Force (IAF), has written a letter to the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC), objecting to certain scenes from the Hindi film “Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl’ on the charges that they show the IAF in poor light
The IAF in its letter has stated that certain scenes in the trailer of the film, found to portray the IAF in an undue negative light. “Certain scenes and dialogues in the movie and its trailer, was forwarded to this Office for viewing, have been found to portray the IAF in an poor light. In the aim to glorify the screen character of Ex-Flight Lieutenant Gunjan Saxena, M/s Dharma Productions presented some situations that are misleading and portray an inappropriate work culture especially against women in the IAF”.
Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, and the streaming platform releasing the film, had promised to represent IAF with authenticity and make all efforts to ensure that the film helps to inspire the next generation of IAF officers. However the trailer tells a different story. The film, starring Jnahvi Kapoor in the lead was premiered on 12 August, Wednesday. The trailer of the movie was released little earlier on the OTT platform.
“As per initial understanding, M/s Dharma Productions had agreed to represent IAF with authenticity, but the picture seems to be different. IAF as a service has always ensured that the organisation is gender neutral and has always provided an equal opportunity to both male and women personnel. The summary of the scenes/ dialogues of the script, which are considered objectionable due to the presentation of incorrect gender bias, is annexed”.
“It is pertinent to highlight that the Production House was informed about the objectionable portion of the movie and was advised to delete/modify the same. However, the Production house has not deleted the scenes but had proposed a Media plan in the run up to the release and inserting a disclaimer in the Movie. This IAF HQ considers that the disclaimer would not be adequate to prevent the presentation of incorrect facts about the IAF.”
Official sources in Dharma Productions said that the contents of IAF’s letter are being studied and appropriate action will be taken in the matter.
The film directed by Sharan Sharma, sees Janhvi in the titular role of India’s first female Air Force officer to enter a war zone. Gunjan Saxena played a pivotal role during the Kargil War of 1999. Gunjan Saxena (45) a helicopter pilot, had joined the IAF in 1994 and participated in Kargil war in 1999,for which she was awarded the “Shaurya Chakra”. She was the first woman to go to war and was also the first woman to receive that award. One of her main roles during the Kargil War was to evacuate the wounded from Kargil, transport supplies and assist in surveillance. She would go on to be part of operations to evacuate over 900 troops, both injured and deceased, from Kargil. In 2004, after serving as a pilot for seven years, her career as a helicopter pilot ended, since the concept of permanent commission for women was not there during her time.
Co incidentally Gunjan Saxena also has written to the CBFC, endorsing the views expressed by the IAF. Besides in an interview to some of TV channels here, Saxena said some scenes are certainly objectionable. For example in one scene senior officer tells Saxena that there are no separate toilets for ladies, since the women have limited role in IAF.
The film’s shoot was wrapped in December last. However, since theatres remain shut due to the novel coronavirus crisis, the makers opted for a digital release.
