Shaurya (2008)
When an anti-Army monologue backfired and how
Film: Shaurya
Year of release: 2008
Director: Samar Khan
Writer: Samar Khan, Jaydeep Sarkar, Aparna Malhotra
Producer: Haresh dayani
Lead Actors: Kay Kay Menon, Rahul Bose, Javed Jaffrey, Deepak Dobriyal, Minissha Lamba, Priyesh Kaushik
Shaurya seemed like director-writer Samar Khan’s attempt at presenting the Indian Army as a force that tortures innocent minorities (Muslims) and falsely implicates them in terrorism charges.
It was copied from the Hollywood film called A Few Good Men. The main difference between the two films is that the original does not accuse their Army of committing communal extrajudicial killings.
Check out this scene:
This is how Indian Army tortures innocent minorities and implicates them in terrorism
Film Shaurya by Samar Khan – a rip-off of "Few Good Men" (except communal card)pic.twitter.com/UL6ZsR4f8O— Gems of Bollywood ??????? ?? ???? (@GemsOfBollywood) September 13, 2021
Ironically, the last scene of the film where Brigadier Rudra Pratap Singh (Menon) delivers a monologue justifying the killings, boomeranged right on the face of the filmmakers.
Instead of fulfilling its purpose of furthering the bogey of “saffron terror”, the scene has become a favourite among critics of radical Islamism.
Perhaps the stellar acting and dialogue delivery by Menon is to blame.
pic.twitter.com/D8zpQO2Q9z— Gems of Bollywood Fan (@FilmyKhichdii) February 2, 2022