IAF writes to Censor Board over negative portrayal in "Gunjan Saxena"

Guwahati: The Indian Air Force (IAF), in a letter addressed to the Central Board Of Film Certification (CBFC), has complained against its "undue negative portrayal" in the movie Gunjan Saxena produced by Karan Johar's Dharma Productions that shall be released on streaming service Netflix.

In the letter, it claims that Karan Johar promised to "represent Indian Air Force with authenticity and make all efforts to ensure that the film helps to inspire the next generation of IAF officers"; the trailer tells a contrasting story.

Here is the IAF's letter:

"As per initial understanding, M/s Dharma Productions had agreed to represent Indian Air Force (IAF) with authenticity and make all efforts to ensure that the film helps to inspire the next generation of IAF Officers. The trailer of the movie has been released recently on the OTT platform.

"Certain scenes and dialogues in the movie and its trailer, which was forwarded to this Office for viewing, have been found to portray the IAF in an undue negative light. In the aim to glorify the screen character of Ex-Fit Lt Gunjan Saxena, M/s Dharma Productions presented some situations that are misleading and portray an inappropriate work culture especially against women in the IAF.

"IAF as a service has always ensured that the organization 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 HQ considers that anmere Media plan and Disclaimer would not be adequate to prevent the presentation of incorrect facts about the IAF."

The trailer of Janhvi Kapoor's Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil girl was recently released.= Directed by Sharan Sharma, the film sees Janhvi in the major role of India's first female Air Force officer to enter a battle zone.

It is to be mentioned that Gunjan Saxena played a significant role during the Kargil War of 1999. The film's shoot was reportedly wrapped up in December last year.  Since theatres remain shut due to the novel coronavirus crisis, the makers opted for a digital release instead.

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