Akshay Kumar's latest is another anti-Pakistan film about India's 'deadliest airstrike'

In a move that comes as a shock to absolutely nobody, Akshay Kumar dropped a significant announcement on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, celebrated in India to commemorate Mahatma Gandhi's birthday, that has left fans on both sides of the border intrigued and concerned. Akshay has revealed his forthcoming project, Sky Force, on a day coinciding with the birth anniversary of former Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.

To no one's surprise, the film is suspected to be yet another anti-Pakistan offering, given that it will be set against the backdrop of the former Indian premier's tenure. The film aims to encapsulate the "patriotism" displayed by the uniformed men who played a role in executing "India’s first and deadliest airstrike."

Fresh from the success of OMG 2 and on the brink of releasing Mission Raniganj: The Great Bharat Rescue, the actor who seems to have taken an oath to be a part of most politically motivated projects shared the news on his Instagram page. The announcement video included a glimpse of the former Indian Prime Minister's speech from that era, in which he is seen claiming that India will not bow down. The trailer claims that the film will tell the "untold true story" of the strike. The actor asked his fans to give the story love and shared that it will hit cinema houses on October 2, 2024.

Co-directed by Sandeep Kelwani and Abhishek Kapur, Sky Force is helmed under the creative production leadership of Amar Kaushik and is produced by Dinesh Vijan and Jyoti Deshpande. As Akshay's fans await the release of Sky Force, one naïvely hopes that this offering is more than just a one-sided depiction of events.

In the past, the actor has been criticised for the portrayal of Pakistan in his films. The Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia saw a Pakistani fan, who appreciated Akshay’s films on social issues, share how he was unhappy with the way his country was portrayed in the Bollywood actor’s 2021 film Bell Bottom. However, the Khiladi actor told the fan that “it is just a movie” and people should avoid nit-picking and being serious about such things.

During a panel discussion, a Pakistani man stood up to raise questions about Kumar’s films. "I’m from Pakistan, your neighbouring country. I have a request. You have done fantastic movies like Pad Man and Toilet. But there’s an issue between India and Pakistan too. Your recent movie Bell Bottom had certain things against Pakistan,” the man said from the audience.

Akshay, almost immediately, responded with a justification for the film. “Sir, it’s just a movie. Don’t get so serious about it. It’s just a movie. There are many things like that. It’s just a movie, sir.”

Directed by Ranjit Tiwari, Bell Bottom, set in the 1980s, sees Akshay essay the role of an Indian secret agent who is on a mission to rescue passengers from aeroplane hijackings. The film was said to be inspired by real-life hijackings of several Indian Airlines flights by Khalistani terrorists during the same era the film is set in. While Bell Bottom was well-received in India, it was widely criticised globally and was even banned in Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The film also featured Vaani Kapoor, Lara Dutta and Huma Qureshi in lead roles.

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