BHUJ: THE PRIDE OF INDIA Big missed opportunity to tell a compelling story
DURING the Indo-Pakistani war of 1971 there was an extraordinary incident where a destroyed airbase runway was rebuilt by 300 local villagers, mostly women, which helped the Indian army immensely.
This big budget period war drama based on that particular incident premiered on streaming site Hotstar recently and like most Bollywood films based around the military it has rewritten history, quite considerably.
In fact, the movie emphasising this is a work of fiction inspired by true events, kind of takes away any kind of credibility. Instead of making an interesting story about village women risking their lives to do something they had never done before and saving the day, it has instead been turned into another anti-Pakistani movie, with men at the forefront. The drama is injected with hyper nationalism, religious propaganda, and long speeches to the point of being comical. There are unnecessary sub-plots injected in for good measure, which have been imagined and stapled on to the central story.
Decidedly average special effects and a fractured narrative also act as a distraction to this film. The cast go along for the ride with overthe-top performances.
All of the negative aspects and hate-filled messaging make this a deeply irresponsible movie. Of course, those who enjoy hyper-nationalistic flag-waving films may find something to enjoy, but ultimately, it’s a missed opportunity because the original story is compelling. By trying to cash in on right-wing nationalism that has swept through India in recent ears, the creative team missed out on a real opportunity to make a powerful feminist film about the fighting spirit of villagers and the fall-out afterwards, when most didn’t get the proper recognition for their heroics deeds. What remains is a movie that has zero credibility.