Mrityunjay Devrat, the director of the controversial film Children Of War, based on Bangladesh's 1971 war of liberation which snuffed thousands of lives and rendered thousands homeless leaving many of them as refugees in India, is outraged by the way the Bangladesh conflict has been depicted in Yashraj Films' Gunday.
Speaking forthrightly on Gunday, Devrat says, "If I am allowed to be honest, then I'd have to say that the makers of Gunday have been factually incorrect. I think it is hugely irresponsible and derogatory to use a sensitive subject such as the Bangladesh war for purely commercial purposes."
At the same time Devrat is happy that the subject of Bangladesh war has been brought into the public forum. "Now a lot more people know about it. But I am hugely disappointed at the lack of attention that Gunday pays to historic details."
The director, however, doesn't feel the frivolity of the historic content in Gunday would affect his Bangladesh film. "With all due respect, no bad film can damage our film. Children Of War has been made with a lot of labour and love. We've tried to protect the sensitivities of all those involved. A movie like Gunday aims only at the box office. We are trying to tell the true story of a genocide that shook the conscience of the Asian subcontinent. Unlike Gunday, our film will not be seen and forgotten."
Devrat feels films guilty of historical inaccuracy are soon forgotten. "History remains history. A factually incorrect book or film cannot change history. I heard Priyanka Chopra saying on television that the 1971 war led to a partition between India and Bangladesh. The ignorance in Bollywood is unbelievable. I think Indian audiences are tired of being taken for granted."
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