aFollowing the Uri and Balakot missions against Pakistan-based terrorists, the relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has become a part of popular folklore. And movies have started to reflect that too.
in a scene from a tamil movie FIRshort for Faizal Ibrahim Raizi“If you tell me, you have no other game plan here, I may have misread the wisdom of the smartest man I have known,” Indian Prime Minister tells NSA Ajay Dewan. Dewan denies the existence of a Plan B.
The context is the bombing of a chemical factory in Visakhapatnam where ISIS terrorists are about to release deadly styrene gas to kill thousands in a vicious attack. it’s a reimagining of Vizag gas leak in 2020.
But all this is secondary because perhaps for the first time, you are the closest to PM Modi in a film, from clothes to mannerisms to voice. In 2019, we also had a full movie on PM Modi starring Vivek Oberoi. The film may not have done well at the box office, but it ensured that PM becomes the subject of more shows and films. The NSA, played by Gautham Vasudevan Menon, may be more fit than his real counterpart, but his actions are believable. FIRDirected by Manu Anand, one of the best fictional yet realistic representations of ISIS in India is matched only by Amazon Prime Video’s Manoj Bajpayee-starrer do a favor,
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Indian Q&M
What’s special about recent movies like Uri (2019) and FIRand OTT shows like knight (2022) The importance given to the PM and NSA figures – they are no longer cardboard cutout mouthing lines.
Govind Bharadwaj, NSA, played by Paresh Rawal Uri These now famous lines said: “This is new Hindustan. He will enter the house, he will die too (This is New India. We will strike the heart of the enemy) These words have been the motto of both the surgical strikes of 2016 and the fictional retelling and retelling of India’s defense stand in the Modi era.
Disney+ Hotstar’s . In knightThe NSA is played by Makarand Deshpande, the master puppeteer of the elite Task Force Hawks. Hawks, considered as India’s first responder to terrorist attacks, is an amalgamation of three defense forces. The Prime Minister, an active part of the entire project, also insists on local production of fighter jets at the show.
There is also a distinct change in the creation of enemy and spymaster stats. For most of us, international espionage thrillers, RAW and other intelligence agencies have also become a popular element in Indian movies and shows. FIR Oversees the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and its functioning. Manu Anand, director and screenwriter FIRsays, “We wanted to show how the NIA guys really look like. They are not all gun-wielding men with abs.”
The closest comparison is probably the M’s and Q’s of British Bond films, which are not part of the actual action, but do facilitate it. They are as much part of the story as Bond, who goes and takes down the country’s enemies. Authority figures don’t just ask the usual security questions and say yes to everything. They ask for plans and strategies as leaders.
In these films and shows, the PM listens but also takes his own decisions – decisions are not arbitrary, but a collaborative effort of all those involved in the security of the country.
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right to national security
FIR An example of how to fix things in a national security-based thriller. It’s sleek and its heart is in the right place. Irrfan Khan aka Faizal Ibrahim Raees, the protagonist, is described by Dewan as “a proud Indian Muslim who lived solely for his country.”
A masala film about patriotism is hardly a jingoist. FIRThe story of is based on a newspaper report that Anand read Indian Express in 2015. “It was about a Muslim boy who was arrested at the age of 15 on suspicion of being a terrorist and found to be innocent after 20 years. But by then an entire family had been devastated.”
Vishnu Vishal plays the role of Irrfan Khan, who was wrongfully arrested for being an ISIS terrorist. Says Vishal, “I took up this project because it has a message and it is an entertainer and also a heart. We also faced a lot of backlash. My father was concerned by the death threats issued. ,
Manu and Vishal teamed up for a project that was rejected multiple times by actors who didn’t want to make such a strong political statement.
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ISIS and fundamentalism
ISIS representation is interesting FIR As it radicalizes a Hindu person to be part of a terrorist organization. Anand says that this part of the film is not completely fictional and is based on several reports from Kerala.
“There are many stories of local families disappearing overnight and landing in Syria to become part of ISIS,” he says. The film doesn’t make fun of the enemy – they are shown as highly intelligent people, who have also been radicalised.
What shines in the story is a sharp awareness of the country’s political issues in the context of the growing isolation of Indian Muslims and the threat of ISIS, which is not much represented in Bollywood.
“The content is finally finding a place in India. We are no longer Bollywood or Tollywood or Mollywood. We can finally call it Indian cinema,” says Vishal.
Vishal’s statement is true or not, FIR unlocks the potential of a good ‘Patriotism’The film which is less loud, is more intelligent. Dewan may say that there is no masterstroke in his strategy, but the film itself is one.
Thoughts are personal.
This article is part of a series called off the reel, You can read all the articles here.