New Delhi | Jagran Entertainment Desk: Gujan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, which was released on Netflix on Wednesday, has been facing flak for its portrayal of the Indian Air Force in the negative light and the National Commission of Women (NCW) has asked its makers to discontinue the screening of the movie.
Amid the ongoing controversies over the portrayal of the IAF in the movie, Pankaj Tripathi, who played one of the lead roles in the movie, has come forward and opened up about the movie’s plot and how “films can steer conversations”.
Speaking to news agency IANS, Tripathi revealed that he always wanted to focus on a film like "Gunjan Saxena" -- a tale of empowerment that aims to inspire young girls to strive harder to fulfil their dreams.
"There was this beautiful line in the film that said -- Plane ladka udaaye ya ladki... dono ko pilot hi kehte hain'. In a beautiful simple line, the film and its story simply smashed years of set gender roles. Being a father to a daughter myself, the story shifted something within me. I want more fathers to be like Anuj Saxena (his character) and more daughters to be like Gunjan," Tripathi said while speaking to IANS.
Also Read | Gunjan Saxena The Kargil Girl Movie Review: Janhvi Kapoor struggles to carry a terrific story forward
The 43-year-old actor, who is the father of a 14-year-old daughter told IANS that “films cannot entirely alter reality but can steer a conversation that will subsequently change mindsets, systematically and over time”, adding that Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl reminded him of several stories of his female colleagues, acquaintances, even people in his family.
"I drew a lot from my own experiences for this film and kept recounting every instance of sacrifice I have seen women make to fit into gender normative roles assigned by the patriarchal society. Yes, probably films can't entirely alter reality but they can steer a conversation that will subsequently change mindsets, systematically and over a prolonged period of time," he noted.
Pankaj Tripathi played the role of Anup Saxena, Gunjan's father, in the movie. The movie was released on Netflix on August 12, 2020. However, since its release, the movie has faced backlash over its negative portrayal of the IAF. Recently, the IAF had also written to the Central Board of Film Certification complaining against its "undue negative portrayal" in the movie.
Posted By: Aalok Sensharma
