![\"Bollywood](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/291840.jpg\" "\\"Bollywood")
<\/p>\nMUMBAI, Aug 4 \u2014 Indian filmmakers are locking up the rights to movie titles that can profit from the patriotism fanned by a four-day conflict with Pakistan, which killed more than 70 people.<\/p>\n
The nuclear-armed rivals exchanged artillery, drone and air strikes in May, after India blamed Pakistan for an armed attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir.<\/p>\n
The fighting came to an end when US President Donald Trump announced a surprise ceasefire.<\/p>\n
Now, some Bollywood filmmakers see an opportunity to cash in on the battle.<\/p>\n
India tagged its military action against Pakistan \u201cOperation Sindoor\u201d, the Hindi word for vermilion, which married Hindu women wear on their foreheads.<\/p>\n
The name was seen as a symbol of Delhi\u2019s determination to avenge those widowed in the April 22 attack in Kashmir\u2019s Pahalgam, which sparked the hostilities.<\/p>\n
Film studios have registered a slew of titles evoking the operation, including: \u201cMission Sindoor\u201d, \u201cSindoor: The Revenge\u201d, \u201cThe Pahalgam Terror\u201d, and \u201cSindoor Operation\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a story which needs to be told,\u201d said director Vivek Agnihotri.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it was Hollywood, they would have made 10 films on this subject. People want to know what happened behind the scenes,\u201d he told AFP.<\/p>\n
Agnihotri struck box office success with his 2022 release, The Kashmir Files, based on the mass flight of Hindus from Kashmir in the 1990s.<\/p>\n
Coloured narratives<\/p>\n
The ruling right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party gave that film a glowing endorsement, despite accusations that it aimed to stir up hatred against India\u2019s minority Muslims.<\/p>\n
Since Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014, some critics say Bollywood is increasingly promoting his government\u2019s ideology.<\/p>\n
Raja Sen, a film critic and screenwriter, said filmmakers felt emboldened by an amenable government.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe tried to wage a war and then we quietened down when Mr Trump asked us to. So what is the valour here?\u201d Sen told AFP of the Pakistan clashes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Anil Sharma, known for directing rabble-rousing movies, criticised the apparent rush to make films related to the Pahalgam attack.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is herd mentality… these are seasonal filmmakers, they have their constraints,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t wait for an incident to happen and then make a film based on that. A subject should evoke feelings and only then cinema happens,\u201d said Sharma.<\/p>\n
Sharma\u2019s historical action flick Gadar: Ek Prem Katha\u00a0(2001) and its sequel Gadar 2\u00a0(2023), both featuring Sunny Deol in lead roles, were big hits.<\/p>\n
In Bollywood, filmmakers often seek to time releases for national holidays like Independence Day, which are associated with heightened patriotic fervour.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Bollywood actors (L-R): Anil Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone attend a promotional event for their upcoming Indian Hindi-language action film \u2018Fighter\u2019 in Mumbai on January 23, 2024. \u2014 AFP pic<\/p>\n
Fighter, featuring big stars Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone, was released on the eve of India\u2019s Republic Day on January 25 last year.<\/p>\n
Anti-Muslim bias<\/p>\n
Though not a factual retelling, it drew heavily from India\u2019s 2019 airstrike on Pakistan\u2019s Balakot.<\/p>\n
The film received mixed-to-positive reviews but raked in US$28 million in India, making it the fourth highest-grossing Hindi film of that year.<\/p>\n
This year, Chhaava, a drama based on the life of Sambhaji Maharaj, a ruler of the Maratha Empire, became the highest-grossing film so far this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It also generated significant criticism for fuelling anti-Muslim bias.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is at a time when cinema is aggressively painting Muslim kings and leaders in violent light,\u201d said Sen. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is where those who are telling the stories need to be responsible about which stories they choose to tell.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sen said filmmakers were reluctant to choose topics that are \u201cagainst the establishment\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the public is flooded with dozens of films that are all trying to serve an agenda, without the other side allowed to make itself heard, then that propaganda and misinformation enters the public psyche,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/291834.jpg\" "\\"This")
<\/p>\n
This year, \u2018Chhaava\u2019, a drama based on the life of Sambhaji Maharaj, a ruler of the Maratha Empire, became the highest-grossing film so far.\u00a0\u2014 AFP pic<\/p>\n
Acclaimed director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra said true patriotism is promoting peace and harmony through the medium of cinema.<\/p>\n
Mehra\u2019s socio-political drama Rang De Basanti\u00a0(2006) won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film and was chosen as India\u2019s official entry for the Golden Globe Awards and the Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow we can arrive at peace and build a better society? How we can learn to love our neighbours?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me that is patriotism.\u201d \u2014 AFP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MUMBAI, Aug 4 \u2014 Indian filmmakers are locking up the rights to movie titles that can profit from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43851,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[4073,49,48,75,1799,337,9380,8767],"class_list":["post-43850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-bollywood","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-india","tag-movies","tag-pakistan","tag-war"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}