Bharat: 7 Landmark Events in Free India’s History Salman Khan’s Film Royally Ignores in Its ‘Journey of Man and Nation Together’ (SPOILER ALERT)
Bharat, directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, is an official remake of the Korean Film, Ode to My Father. While the Salman Khan film does borrow the template of the Korean film, it is basically a star vehicle for Bhai with little justice done to the era where the movie is set.
Bharat is a soft movie. For a film that is supposed to be about a journey of a man and a nation together, Bharat is mostly about the man. Well, what do you expect when the said man is played by Salman Khan, a superstar for whom cinematic rules and good script laws bend their knees. Bharat, directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, is an official remake of the Korean Film, Ode to My Father. While the Salman Khan film does borrow the template of the Korean film, it is basically a star vehicle for Bhai with little justice done to the era where the movie is set. Bharat: What If Salman Khan Reviews His Own Film, His Romantic Pairing With Katrina Kaif and Disha Patani Through His Movie Dialogues!
The majority of the film is set between 1947 t0 1993, but Bharat skips many of the landmark events that should have affected or piqued the interest of the protagonist, conveniently named Bharat (Salman Khan). The only adverse real-life incident that the movie shows is the 1947 partition riots, that too, because the incident was needed to set the plot in motion. Apart from that, Bharat only finds space for these events - a mention of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru's demise, the unemployment crisis in the '60s, the 1983 World Cup Win, Dr Manmohan Singh's tenure as the Financial Minister and the Emergence of Zee TV in the '90s. As you can see, the movie plays it safe by raring getting into any of the controversial, adversely impactful events that India has seen in the period. Bharat: 11 Ridiculous Moments in Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif’s Film That Made You Go WTF! (SPOILER ALERT).
Like the below seven life-changing events that Bharat totally ignored in its 'journey of a man & nation together'. (PS - For a movie about a man growing with the nation, Bharat spends most of his life outside the nation!)
India's Wars With Pakistan and China
Between 1947 and 1993, India had fought three majors wars - two with Pakistan, that we won, and one with China, that we lost. But in the world of Bharat, there was no mention of any such troubles. Maybe because Bharat was too busy ogling at the pretty Kumud (Katrina Kaif) while drilling for oil in the Gulf.
Indira Gandhi's Emergency
Former Indira Gandhi's Imposition of National Emergency is one of the most important chapters of Free India, and a dark spot in our democracy. And yet, not even a hint of it is mentioned in Bharat.
Operation Bluestar, A PM Gets Killed and the 1984 Riots
Speaking of Indira Gandhi, how can we not talk about her unfortunate assassination by her own bodyguards on October 31, 1984? This was in retaliation to the Operation Bluestar that was carried, when the army stormed into the Golden Temple of Amritsar to kill the militants holed up there. Following her demise, millions of Sikhs were displaced and nearly three thousand were killed in anti-Sikh riots. Considering that Bharat and his family used to stay near Delhi, it is a wonder how their family was never affected by the riots, directly or indirectly.
Bhopal Gas Tragedy
In the same year, India saw another huge tragedy in one of its biggest man-made disasters in the last century. The poisonous gas leak incident on December 3, 1984, at the Union Carbide India Limited killed over 3000 people, but affected more 50,000 residents around in Bhopal. But Bharat was busy dancing with Somalian pirates on Amitabh Bachchan songs then.
Rajiv Gandhi's Assassination
On May 21, 1991, Indira Gandhi's son and India's 6th Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in a suicide bombing. While Bharat talks about Dr Manmohan Singh bringing globalisation and liberalisation in our economy, but glosses over this shocking incident.
The Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus
Between the late '80s and the early '90s, thousands of Kashmiri Hindus were forced to leave their homes in the state by the JKLF and Islamist insurgents. It has been a huge issue that continues to burn the country even today. Despite many of the Kashmiri settling around Delhi, Bharat has been oblivious of their existence, even when he himself has been a victim of similar circumstances.
Babri Masjid Demolition and The Riots That Followed
And going by the tradition of Bharat looking the other way when it comes to communal incidents, Babri Masjid demolition and the Hindu-Muslim riots that followed were completely ignored!
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 07, 2019 08:26 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).