Mission Majnu glosses over Morarji Desai’s rumoured ‘resentment’ of RAW & closeness with Pakistan

[MenInG]

Mission Majnu glosses over Morarji Desai’s rumoured ‘resentment’ of RAW & closeness with Pakistan

Siddharth Malhotra-starrer Mission Majnu which claims to be based on ‘true events’ released on Netflix Friday to mixed reviews. The film follows a R&AW agent during India’s first successful nuclear test in 1974 and the subsequent tension between India and Pakistan


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However, it does not address rumours that then-Prime Minister Morarji Desai divulged details of the intelligence agency’s network in Pakistan to Zia-Ul Haq, Pakistan’s then-chief martial law administrator. The rumours claim Desai informed him about India’s bomb-making facility in Pakistan. It has never been confirmed.

Pawan Khera, chairman of the Congress’ media and publicity department, points this out on Twitter.

In 1977, Desai cut R&AW funds by 30 per cent. It was a controversial move, deemed as a step taken to secure his own power. Reports claim that Desai “hated” the R&AW because he believed it was an agency built by Indira Gandhi to spy on opposition leaders.

In Mission Majnu, Morarji Desai is played by Avijit Dutt and is seen having phone conversations with Zia – giving tips on yoga et al but nothing political.

In his book Kaoboys of R&AW, former R&AW officer B Raman claims the conversations started that way but would often lead to Desai divulging state secrets.

“Zia was a past master in the art of flattery. Often, he would ring up Morarji Desai under the pretext of consulting him on native medicine and urine therapy. Nothing flattered Morarji more. Zia would ask him with seeming earnestness in his voice: ‘Excellency, how many times one should drink the urine in a day? Should it be the first urine of the morning or can it be any time of the day?’ In a disarmed and unguarded moment one day, Morarji told him that he was aware that Pakistan was clandestinely trying to develop a military nuclear capability. Indiscreet political leaders are the unavoidable occupational hazards of the intelligence profession,” the book reads.

Desai’s relationship with Zia and Pakistan is reflected in the fact that he won the country’s highest civilian honour, the Nishan-E-Pakistan. It was conferred on Desai for his “abiding commitment to peace and improvement of ties between the two countries”.

The citation on the award described Desai as a leader of extreme gallantry who contributed to the establishment of tension-free and mutually beneficial ties between India and Pakistan.

https://theprint.in/india/mission-m...tment-of-raw-closeness-with-pakistan/1327442/

 

[MenInG]

Don't see why any Anti Pak movie will be a flop in India!?

 

[PakLFC]

Whatever. India couldn't stop Pak becoming a nuke power some years later. Eent ka jawaab patthar.

 

[Cricket-lion]

Whatever. India couldn't stop Pak becoming a nuke power some years later. Eent ka jawaab patthar.

Look at Pakistans economy, in tatters and we all know thanks to who.

 

[PakLFC]

Look at Pakistans economy, in tatters and we all know thanks to who.

No I don't know so enlighten me. Besides the current state of the economy has nothing to do with Pak becoming a nuke power.

 

[MenInG]

My mistake to have watched the trailer of this thing...I demand 5 mins of my life back from the film-makers!

 

[JaDed]

Pretty average movie although side cast was decent.

Moraji Desai was left off easily though, the biggest dimwit we had for a PM, deservingly the Nishaan-e-Pakistan which they conveniently didn’t say at the end.

Anek was slightly better than this but again nothing compared to movies like Sarfarosh or Jewel thief or even Soldier.

 

[JaDed]

Don't see why any Anti Pak movie will be a flop in India!?

Lol tons of them.. ver few hits in last 15 years, no distributor wanted to buy this movie thats why they took the OTT route.

 

[Syed1]

Whatever. India couldn't stop Pak becoming a nuke power some years later. Eent ka jawaab patthar.

Overall the nukes ensure that Pak cannot be invaded, but it also made the military establishment all the more powerful which is a net negative. The army wants a say in every aspect of governance now, and can promptly remove you if you do not keep the generals happy (example: IK).

Overall Pakistan has regressed significantly ever since we went nuclear. I just wish the British had not botched the partition before leaving and that would mean Pakistan never needed to feed the snake called Pakistan Army.

 

[PakLFC]

Overall the nukes ensure that Pak cannot be invaded, but it also made the military establishment all the more powerful which is a net negative. The army wants a say in every aspect of governance now, and can promptly remove you if you do not keep the generals happy (example: IK).

Overall Pakistan has regressed significantly ever since we went nuclear. I just wish the British had not botched the partition before leaving and that would mean Pakistan never needed to feed the snake called Pakistan Army.

The bold part is the most important that nothing else compares. If the government is among the most corrupt then the military needs to step in. Then on the other hand we have religious fanatics like IK using Islam as a means to further his own agenda. He openly bad mouths the military allowing India to laugh at us, no other PM ever insults the armed forces in public. The military generals are as wealthy if not wealthier then the politicians but i respect the soldiers who regularly die for the country.

 

[MenInG]

Adnan Siddiqui has something to say about Bollywood's misrepresentation of Pakistanis in their films. The recent offering, Mission Majnu, became the butt of jokes after Sidharth Malhotra-starrer stereotyped people from this side of the border in the film.

While many rightly called out the makers of the propaganda film on Twitter, Siddiqui took to Instagram and shared his two cents on the matter. "How much misrepresentation is too much misrepresentation?" he asked his followers on the photo-sharing app. "Bollywood has the answer."

Adding on, the actor, who starred in Bollywood offering Mom, alongside late superstar Sridevi and Sajal Ali, commented, "I mean come on, with all the money you have, hire some good researchers to do homework on us. Or allow me to help. Make sure to take notes—no, we don’t wear skull caps, surma, tawiz; no, we don’t ask janab about their mijaz; no, we don’t go around throwing adaab."

Siddiqui went on to comment, "There’s so much in Mission Majnu that’s distasteful and factually incorrect. The hero’s saviour complex would’ve been accentuated more if the villain was shown at par. A weak antagonist embellishes an even weaker protagonist."

He concluded, "Poor story, poorer execution, poorest research. Next time, come and visit us. We are good hosts. Will show you how we look like, dress up and live."

Malhotra previously addressed stereotyping of Pakistanis and India's knack for making films on this side of the border. When asked if his character in the film helps perpetuate stereotypes of Pakistanis in Hindi films, the actor told Film Companion, "We have consciously made an effort in the writing that it is never to take on a particular community. I recently did a film called Shershaah, which is based on India and Pakistan, and the battle that we had, which was documented."

He added, "Once you see the film, consciously we never really concentrated, barring maybe four scenes on the other side (Pakistan), it was purely about this side (India) and this man's journey, (Army captain) captain Vikram Batra sacrificing his life... So there is the same conscious effort (with Mission Majnu), and there is no personal animosity with anyone, these are just documented historical points, which we will never get complete facts of, so for that, you need to establish possibly certain characters in an x amount of time."

The actor further responded about certain scenes in the trailer and added, "And the shots they are referring to (from the trailer) are meant to be tongue-in-cheek in the film. So, I think it will be a fair dialogue once everyone sees the film... it is never about a community or taking a dig, which digresses from the film… a religion or a community is never an issue in the film."

There has been a steady rise in Bollywood film productions which often overtly or covertly portray an anti-Pakistan sentiment. Malhotra's Mission Majnu isn't Bollywood's first attempt at wrongly depicting Pakistan and history. His Student of the Year co-star, Alia Bhatt, too, essayed a spy in the 2018 film, Raazi. One such film released in 2021, Bhuj: The Pride of India, which stars Ajay Devgan in the lead role, ironically features a rendition of Madam Noor Jehan’s iconic song Zaalima CocaCola.

Films portraying an anti-Pakistan narrative gained traction after the Uri attacks in 2016. Uri: The Surgical Strike, starring Vicky Kaushal was one of the first military-inspired films showing Pakistan in a negative light. While Akshay Kumar’s spy thriller Bell Bottom, inspired by the hijackings of Indian Airline flights in the 80s, was banned from screening in KSA, Kuwait and Qatar. The countries in question deemed the film to be unfit for exhibition.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/239790...istasteful-factually-incorrerct-mission-majnu