IAF writes to CBFC objecting to 'negative portrayal' in Gunjan Saxena

The Indian Air Force IAF has written to the Central Board of Film Certification complaining against its undue negative portrayal in the movie Gunjan Saxena The Kargil Girl which is scheduled for a release on Netflix todayThe Air Force in its letter to the censor board and sent to Netflix and Dharma Productions has stated that as per initial understanding Dharma Productions had agreed to represent Indian Air Force IAF with authenticity and make all efforts to ensure that the film helps to inspire the next generation of IAF officers However when the trailer of the movie was released recently it was observed that certain scenes and dialogues in the movie and its trailer which was forwarded to this office for viewing have been found to portray the IAF in an undue negative lightThe letter written by the IAF and accessed by ANI read In the aim to glorify the screen character of ExFit Lt Gunjan Saxena Ms Dharma Productions presented some situations that are misleading and portray an inappropriate work culture especially against women in the IAFThe story of the Dharma Productions movie is based on the first Indian Air Force woman pilot who was part of the 1999 Kargil conflictSaxena who is one of the first female pilots to fly in combat played an important role in rescuing injured soldiers during the Kargil War in 1999 and was awarded the gallantry Shaurya Vir Award for displaying courage during the warIn the communication the Air Force said that as a service it has ensured that the organisation is gender neutral and has always provided an equal opportunity to both male and women personnelIAF has also annexed the summary of the scenes and dialogues of the script which are considered objectionable due to the presentation of incorrect gender bias with the letterIt also stated in the letter that the Karan Joharowned Dharma Productions was informed about the objectionable portion of the movie and was advised to deletemodify the same However the production house has not deleted the scenes but it proposed a media plan in the runup to the release and insert a disclaimer in the movieThe Air Force stated that it feels that a mere media plan and disclaimer would not be adequate to prevent the presentation of incorrect facts about the IAFIn view of the above the issue of grant of NOC for the release of the movie will be considered after deleting or suitably modifying the scenes in order to cater to the observations mentioned the Air Force statedIndian Air Force is first amongst the three services to grant commission to women officers in branches other than the medical branch and now all branches of IAF are open for both genders including the Fighter stream of Flying BranchThe initial batch of Permanent Commission PC officers in the flying branch are already holding appointments of Flt Cdr second in command of operational flying units and some units are being commanded by women officersIAF is among the best examples for opportunities to women officers in the military and has pioneered the opening up almost all professional avenues for women officers and has a very good record of gender neutralityWomen officers in service say that this was possible because of the organisations balanced and unbiased professional approach and treatment of women officers at par from the very beginningKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever