MUMBAI – In the wake of a deadly four-day military standoff between India and Pakistan that claimed over 70 lives, several Indian filmmakers are scrambling to secure movie titles inspired by the recent conflict, aiming to tap into the patriotic sentiment the clash has stirred.
The brief yet intense escalation occurred in May after New Delhi blamed Islamabad for a deadly assault on tourists in Indian-occupied Kashmir. What followed was a barrage of artillery, drone, and airstrikes exchanged across the border—before U.S. President Donald Trump intervened to broker an unexpected ceasefire.
Despite the violence being short-lived, it has already become fertile ground for Bollywood, which sees in the skirmish a profitable narrative. India’s military campaign was dubbed “Operation Sindoor,” named after the vermilion powder worn by married Hindu women—a symbolic gesture linking national revenge to the pain of widowed women from the April 22 attack in Pahalgam.
Soon after, Indian studios began registering film titles such as “Mission Sindoor,” “Sindoor: The Revenge,” “The Pahalgam Terror,” and “Sindoor Operation.” According to filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, such stories deserve to be told: “If it were Hollywood, they’d have made 10 films about this already,” he told AFP.
Agnihotri previously made headlines with his controversial 2022 film The Kashmir Files, which depicted the mass exodus of Hindus from Kashmir in the 1990s. The film received public backing from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), though critics widely accused it of stoking anti-Muslim sentiment.
Observers argue that under Modi’s leadership since 2014, Bollywood has increasingly aligned itself with the government’s nationalist narrative. Film critic and screenwriter Raja Sen suggested this surge of military-themed films reveals a politically friendly environment:
“We tried to wage war, and then stopped when Trump told us to—so what’s the valor in that?” Sen said.
Not all filmmakers, however, support this trend. Veteran director Anil Sharma, known for patriotic blockbusters like Gadar and its sequel, criticized the opportunistic rush to dramatize recent events:
“This is herd mentality… seasonal filmmakers who react to headlines,” he said, adding, “Cinema must come from genuine emotion—not headlines.”
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In India, filmmakers often align releases with national holidays to evoke patriotic enthusiasm. For example, the 2024 release Fighter, starring Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone, hit cinemas on Republic Day eve. Loosely inspired by India’s 2019 Balakot airstrike on Pakistan, the film received mixed reviews but grossed $28 million domestically—becoming the fourth-highest-grossing Hindi film that year.
This year’s top grosser, Chhaava, based on the life of Maratha ruler Sambhaji Maharaj, has also faced criticism for alleged anti-Muslim portrayals, contributing to what some critics see as a growing trend of religious polarization in Indian cinema.
“This is a time when Muslim kings and leaders are being aggressively painted as violent,” said Sen. “Filmmakers are avoiding topics that challenge the dominant narrative.”
He warned that the flood of one-sided, agenda-driven films risks embedding propaganda into public consciousness:
“If the public is overwhelmed with only one kind of story, while the other side remains unheard, then misinformation takes root.”
Renowned director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, known for the award-winning Rang De Basanti (2006), offered a different vision: “True patriotism is fostering peace and harmony through cinema,” he said.