Bollywood's obsession with Pakistan and depicting false narratives continue as Sidharth Malhotra's Mission Majnu releases on Netflix on Friday. The film, as per the actor, is "inspired by true events". However, one look at the trailer, and the viewer could smell propaganda from afar.
Mission Majnu aims to take you down memory lane when Pakistan and India were in a head-on competition to build nuclear weapons. However, without revealing much about India's side of history, the trailer goes on to show Pakistan conducting unauthorised nuclear activities.
However, Malhotra has now addressed stereotyping Pakistanis and India's knack for making films on this side of the border. When asked if his character in the film helps perpetuate stereotypes of Pakistanis in Hindi films, the actor told Film Companion, "We have consciously made an effort in the writing that it is never to take on a particular community. I recently did a film called Shershaah, which is based on India and Pakistan, and the battle that we had, which was documented."
He added, "Once you see the film, consciously we never really concentrated, barring maybe four scenes on the other side (Pakistan), it was purely about this side (India) and this man's journey, (Army captain) captain Vikram Batra sacrificing his life... So there is the same conscious effort (with Mission Majnu), and there is no personal animosity with anyone, these are just documented historical points, which we will never get complete facts of, so for that, you need to establish possibly certain characters in an x amount of time."
The actor further responded about certain scenes in the trailer and added, "And the shots they are referring to (from the trailer) are meant to be tongue-in-cheek in the film. So, I think it will be a fair dialogue once everyone sees the film... it is never about a community or taking a dig, which digresses from the film… a religion or a community is never an issue in the film."
However, Malhotra's Mission Majnu isn't Bollywood's first attempt at wrongly depicting Pakistan and history. His Student of the Year co-star, Alia Bhatt, too, essayed a spy in the 2018 film, Raazi. So, it was only natural for many to compare the two films and the actors' roles in the projects.
"It is never a bad thing if people are trying to find a reference point for a film. It (Raazi) is a good film. It doesn't feel like it (the comparison) is such an alarming thing," the actor shared with the publication. "Yes, the elements on the outer periphery seeing the trailer might look similar. It is in the same decade (the 1970s), and has similar elements, but I think the experience is completely different."
He added, "It is only fair to speak to people after January 20 (Mission Majnu's release date), once they see the film. I think it is fair (the comparison), and we will have a better conversation when the film is out and we could discuss it. Comparison with a good film is always welcome, it is not a bad thing at all."
Talking about the film set in the 1970s, Malhotra had earlier told PTI, “This is a film inspired by true events. It’s about an important mission that RAW did. It is more of a thriller than action. This is the first time I am playing a spy agent but it is not a James Bond character.”
Malhotra added, “I am somebody who keeps manipulating people to get information out. In that manipulation, I got an opportunity to play various shades that I had not in the past. It’s a tone and world that is completely fresh. I have not done a period film before. It was a new experience.” Mission Majnu, is produced by Ronnie Screwvala of RSVP, Amar Butala and Garima Mehta.
There has been a steady rise in Bollywood film productions which often overtly or covertly portray an anti-Pakistan sentiment. One such film released in 2021, Bhuj: The Pride of India, which stars Ajay Devgan in the lead role, ironically features a rendition of Madam Noor Jehan’s iconic song Zaalima CocaCola.
Films portraying an anti-Pakistan narrative gained traction after the Uri attacks in 2016. Uri: The Surgical Strike, starring Vicky Kaushal was one of the first military-inspired films showing Pakistan in a negative light. While Akshay Kumar’s spy thriller Bell Bottom, inspired by the hijackings of Indian Airline flights in the 80s, was banned from screening in KSA, Kuwait and Qatar. The countries in question deemed the film to be unfit for exhibition.
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