MUMBAI: Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff’s Baaghi 2 has come under severe criticism for its “ignorant and insensitive” first scene which bears an uncanny resemblance to an inhumane real-life incident from Indian occupied Kashmir.
Last year there was a worldwide outcry when Farooq Ahmad Dar, an innocent 26-year old Kashmiri voter was forcibly used as a “human shield”. The young shawl maker was strapped to the front of an army vehicle by Indian Army Major Nitin Leetul Gogoi to deter stone pelters in the occupied valley, in April 2017. The incident took place during a by-election in the parliamentary seat of the city of Srinagar.
Though having sparked massive condemnation, the Indian army officer was awarded military honours for his ‘sustained’ efforts in “counter-insurgency” operations.
Sajid Nadiadwala has now glorified this brutal moment in his latest film Baaghi 2. The film opens with Indian army officer Ranveer Pratap Singh played by Tiger Shroff using a man in Kashmir as a human shield, in the same manner as the real incident.
Slamming the scene, a Professor of Peace Ashok Swain in his review of the film tweeted, “Bollywood is not only morally corrupt and intellectually pauper, it also lacks decency and humanity!”
Bollywood is not only morally corrupt and intellectually pauper, it also lacks decency and humanity! https://t.co/uexSsSWCht via @dailyo_
— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) March 31, 2018
Dailyo, an online Indian opinion and commentary platform, commented, “Pakistan-bashing, hyper-nationalism and vein-popping bursts of patriotism are fixtures in Army films in the Hindi film industry. But even for Bollywood, this moment feels like a new low.”
Baaghi 2, which stars Tiger Shroff and Disha Patani in lead roles is also being screened in cinemas across Pakistan. However, there have no reports of it receiving any backlash in the country.
