After Pakistani social media user's review goes viral, Uri director negates critique that film shows neighbouring country in a bad light
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; February 2, 2019)

Its resounding success at the box office aside, Vicky Kaushal’s Uri: The Surgical Strike has won critical acclaim for its depiction of the Indian Army’s efforts in the 2016 surgical strike against Pakistan. However, recently, a review of the Aditya Dhar-directed film by a Pakistani cinephile attracted the attention of social media users — the reviewer opined that the military drama not only glorified war but also presented Pakistanis as “headless chickens”.

Taking the critique head-on, Dhar says, “A person has to be evil to think war is a great thing. We all need peace. Having said that, if we want to defend our borders, we have to fight these elements. As a filmmaker, I was telling the story in chronological order. My point was to showcase the bravado of our army. Soldiers don’t like killing people.”

The debutant director goes on to add that the film takes a stand against terrorism, and not against a country per se. “The film isn’t made with a motive to undermine another country. Uri is about the fight against terrorism. It even had dialogues like, ‘Hamari jung Pakistani junta se nahi hai.’ Any sane mind from the other side of the border should be able to see the intention.”

Considering its release coincided with the election year and shows the Government in a positive light, there has been enough chatter about the Yami Gautam starrer being a propaganda film. Point this out to Dhar, and he says, “The release date was planned a year back. January 11 [seemed the ideal date] as January 15 is Army Day, followed by Republic Day on January 26. It’s a tribute to the Army and wasn’t backed by any political party. The film is a depiction of what happened. If the decision was taken by a party, we have to include it in the narrative.”