Indian Air Force has shown their disappointment by writing a letter to the Censor Board, expressing disagreement over the ‘Negative Portrayal of the Armed Forces’ in Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl movie.
Karan Johar, whose production house is Dharma Productions, is also Film Director, Actor, Screen Writer, produced this movie and this movie will be releasing on Netflix India platform. The IAF has shown their disappointment over the negative portrayal of the character and has requested the Censor Board to delete some parts and edit some parts and scenes of the movie. The IAF has made it clear that it will grant a NOC only after the scenes are deleted or edited.
The movie will be releasing on August 12, 2020, on Netflix. The story of the movie is all about the 1999 Kargil War between India and Pakistan and the contribution of Gunjan Saxena in the War.
Letter to the Central Board of Film Certification by Indian Air Force:
IAF, in the letter to CBFC, requested to delete or edit certain scenes and part of the movie which are being portrayed negatively about the IAF. IAF has revealed that earlier, they had a very long conversation with the producers, Dharma Productions, in which the producer promised that he would portray the Armed Force with all the decency and had ensured that the younger generation will get motivated to join Armed Forces after watching this film.
After watching the trailer, the IAF contacted Karan Johar of Dharma Productions and requested him to delete and edit few scenes which are inappropriate, which the producer of the upcoming film did not pay heed to. Instead of deleting or editing the scenes, they had put a disclaimer at the beginning of the movie.
In a letter to ANI, the IAF has written that, in the aim to elevate the film, the producers have portrayed the character of Ex- Fit Lt. General Gunjan Saxena in an inappropriate way, which is a sign to complete disrespect to the IAF and other Armed Forces. The letter also says that the movie has shown the fake culture of gender biases and inappropriate work culture of the IAF. In the letter, the IAF mentioned to CBFC that IAF is one of the most gender-neutral forces in the entire country and we do not spread any sort of gender biases in serving the country. They also mentioned that IAF was one of the first to have the posts for women officers.
About Ex- Fit Lt. General Gunjan Saxena:
She was born on August 31, 1975, in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. She is one of the 1st Women Pilots of India. She Joined IAF in 1994 and was sent on a war against Pakistan in 1999. The best thing about her is that in 1999 Kargil War she was the only woman who was sent by the IAF for the war. She was the 1st woman recipient of Shaurya Chakra.
