New Delhi: Aditya Dhar says his production company, ‘Article 370’, is a film that promotes women’s empowerment as the movie is headlined by his wife and actor Yami Gautam and Priyamani, and is based on a ‘pure story’ following the success of Vicky Kaushal’s military drama ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’, which marked his directorial debut.
Dhar on criticism around Uri: The Surgical Strike
Dhar also discussed the criticism his first film, ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’, garnered from reviewers who referred to it as “an agenda-driven film filled with jingoism” in an interview with indianexpress.com. The director claimed that rather than reviewing a movie, he ignores this “community of critics” who pass judgement on it.
About Article 370
Aditya Dhar discussed ‘Article 370’ and said that the movie “actually shows” what transpired when the government started to revoke Article 370 of the Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir. The movie is based on facts. Additionally, he exhorted the audience to see the movie since it supports female empowerment.
He told the publication, “Article 370 chronologically tells the truth, what had happened and how it happened. There is no jingoism. There is nothing in the film which will feel distasteful. It is a pure story of how these people pulled off such a massive operation. It is a great story. People who always say that we don’t make big female-oriented films in India, we have made it, now go and watch it. This is the film that actually proves that it doesn’t matter if the lead is a guy or a girl; what matters is a great story. Article 370 is the perfect film to be endorsed by people who champion women’s rights.”
Even after his debut film ‘Uri: The Surgical Strik’e, which took home the National Award in 2019, was well received by critics and viewers, Dhar still had to deal with harsh criticism. He claims that despite criticism that the movie was “jingoistic” and “agenda-driven,” the general public disproved these claims.
Aditya Dhar said, “The community who feels that it is an agenda-driven film without watching it, I really don’t care about them because I think they are people who have already made their judgement and the agenda is actually in their head. They made a judgement without actually even seeing the film, so I can’t do anything about that. So, even discussing or thinking about them is a waste of time.”
“My point is that I have made a great film with a genuine story and great intent. The audience will hopefully love it and those who don’t want to see it, I can’t force them to see it. If people have already formed their opinions, it doesn’t matter to me. I don’t even think about those people at all because it is a film which will resonate with the audience,” he added.