Today, on March 22, the movie "Swatantrya Veer Savarkar" was released. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, a politician and revolutionary independence fighter, is portrayed in the movie by Randeep Hooda. This is his directorial debut. Propaganda is the term used to describe the movie that is being distributed in the context of the election. A few debates about the movie are also starting to surface. The great-grandson of Subhash Chandra Bose has taken issue with a sequence in the teaser.
Before Swatantra Veer Savarkar, incidentally, a number of films were involved in controversy and were charged of being propaganda. time some films took a time to make it into theaters, others were never released at all to avoid controversy.
It's interesting to note that just two movies that are regarded as propaganda in the modern era—The Kerala Story and The Kashmir Files—have made a total of Rs 645 crore at the box office. Had merited.
We'll explain to you today what propaganda films are and which ones generated controversy prior to their debut.
Before you do, find out why "Swatantrya Veer Savarkar" is a contentious movie.
First controversy: Chandra Kumar Bose, the great-grandson of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, has taken issue with a sequence in the trailer. He claims that the filmmakers have damaged Subhash Chandra Bose's reputation. In this scene, Veer Savarkar orders Subhash Chandra Bose to attack the British using Germany's and Japan's cutting-edge armaments.
On social media, Chandra Kumar Bose posted, "Randeep Hooda- Thank you for producing a film about Savarkar, but please do not equate Savarkar with Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. Netaji was a nationalist and secular leader.
Second controversy: There has been much discussion on social media regarding the actor portraying Bhimrao Ambedkar in the movie and his skin tone. There are others who argue that Bhimrao Ambedkar's character was not well cast for the movie. He is casting this casting with a caste perspective after noticing the actor's appearance.
Concerns have also been raised by Congress regarding Veer Savarkar's reputation as a liberation warrior. "Have you ever wondered why no Congress member was punished with black water in such a situation?" For instance, the rhetoric in the movie has led to accusations that it is anti-Congress.
Because it says, "Mahatma Gandhi was not bad, but if he had not stuck to his non-violent thinking, India would have become independent 35 years ago," the movie is being accused of inciting anti-Mahatma Gandhi emotions. similar to how conversations exist.
In response to criticism that his film is propaganda, Randeep Hooda explained in an interview that he paid for the production out of his own house and did not get any outside financing.
Films that seek to promote propaganda or set some sort of agenda are known as propaganda movies. movies that promote significant and contentious national issues, political figures or parties, and governmental initiatives.
Aside from this, movies about religion, society, riots, caste violence, and historical subjects that portray one religion as heroic and another as cruel are referred to as agenda or propaganda movies. The popularity of these movies has grown ahead of the April Lok Sabha elections.
1) Film: 72 Hooren
Date of Release: July 7, 2023
Story: The movie depicted how young people become suicide bombers after being duped by extremists. The movie is supposedly based on real-life incidents. Soon after the trailer was released, controversies surrounding the movie began.
Social activist Syed Arif Ali Mahmood Ali from Mumbai has filed a formal complaint against the producers. The film's director, Sanjay Puran Singh, and producer Ashok Pandit were among the four people accused of disrespecting religion and portraying an inaccurate picture of a specific community. In the FIR, the creators were additionally charged with making money off of false propaganda in addition to this. The movie wasn't a hit.
2) The film Ajmer 92
Date of Release: July 21, 2023
Story: The largest rape scandal in the nation occurred in Ajmer, Rajasthan, and served as the inspiration for the plot of the movie Ajmer 92. Approximately 250 females were assaulted for months and their offensive images and videos were used as blackmail. This incident involves prominent Ajmer citizens. In 1992, the whole nation was taken aback when it was discovered.
Officials from the Ajmer Sharif Dargah Committee and members of the Muslim community had voiced strong opposition to the film. He faced accusations that the movie was directed towards members of the same community. The Dargah Committee also issued a warning, stating that legal action would be taken if attempts were made to harm the reputations of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti and Ajmer Sharif Dargah. The movie was a complete failure.
3) Film: The Story of Kerala
Date of Release: May 5, 2023
Story: This Sudipto Sen-directed movie told the tale of Keralan students who are taken in by ISIS and utilized to further their goals. Despite being mired in controversy, this movie was based on a true story. In the movie, there was discussion of 32,000 girls being tortured; this notion caused uproar. This demonstration, which originated in Kerala, was talked about all over the nation. The BJP characterized the movie, on the one hand, as revealing the true nature of terrorism. Many opposition parties, such as Congress and TMC, referred to it as a propaganda film at the same time.
There is an effort on to damage Kerala's reputation, according to VD Satheesan, Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly. He claimed that the Sangh was promoting enmity in Kerala as part of its plan.
The reference to 32000 girls was taken out of the trailer by the film's creators after the debate got out of hand. Nonetheless, the movie profited handsomely from controversy. At the box office, the movie made about Rs 305 crore.
4) Film: The Files of Kashmir
Date of Release: March 11, 2022
The abuse that Kashmiri Pandits endured during the 1990 conflict was documented in The Kashmir Files. It was alleged that Vivek Agnihotri, the director, focused primarily on one part of the movie when making it.
'The Kashmir Files' became even more controversial because Israeli director Nadav Lapid referred to it as a filthy and propaganda movie during the 53rd International Film Festival in Goa in 2023.
He claimed that after seeing this movie, we were startled and unsettled. This movie is inappropriate for a prominent film festival like this one. Controversies surrounding the movie sparked conversations. The movie, which cost Rs 12 crores to make, brought in Rs 340 crores in revenue.
The Accidental Prime Minister (film)
Date of Release: January 11, 2019
Even before it was released, the movie "The Accidental Prime Minister," which is based on Sanjay Baru's book about the former prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, was mired in controversy.
According to Baru's 2014 book "The Accidental Prime Minister," Sonia Gandhi, the chair of the UPA, held power and there was a prime minister by the name of Manmohan Singh. These topics also received a lot of attention in this movie.
After the movie's trailer was tweeted by the BJP's official account, the uproar grew. Congressmen started acting aggressively and made requests to halt the movie's release.
Additionally, there were talks of outlawing it in places where Congress was in charge, but the party eventually denied this. After its release, the movie did not perform well at the box office.
When Aandhi was outlawed in 1975, "Kissa Kursi Ka" prints were set on fire.
Controversial movie cases are nothing new. During the Emergency Period, Indira Gandhi banned the 1975 film Aandhi. Subsequently, it was made public at the formation of the Janata Party government in 1977; nevertheless, Indira returned to power in 1980.
During the Emergency in 1975, Sanjay Gandhi's followers set fire to every copy of the film "Kissa Kursi Ka," which was directed by Janata Party MP Amrit Nahta. This included the master print. This movie was created with inspiration from Indira and Sanjay Gandhi's methods of operation.
For damaging this movie, Sanjay Gandhi and the former minister of information and broadcasting, Vidya Charan Shukla, were also penalized. This ruling was subsequently revoked, though. With a new cast, Nahta shot this movie in 1978; however, Congress regained control in 1980. Later on, Nahta became a member of Congress.
The 1993 movie Kuttarapathirikal, which was inspired by Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, was similarly prohibited. 2007 may see its release.
