India tells filmmakers to drop ‘China-bashing’ as ties warm
India’s diplomatic thaw with China is causing films about the 2020 Galwan Valley clash to be retitled, reshot or shelved entirely
As
and China work to steady their relationship after years of border tension, Indian filmmakers say projects inspired by the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes are being reworked, delayed or shelved following official warnings against “China-bashing”.
heavyweight Salman Khan’s war drama, initially titled Battle of Galwan, was reportedly asked to change its name to Maatrubhumi: May War Rest in Peace, with several scenes requiring reshoots. A separate film, The Lion of Galwan, has been shelved entirely.
The developments have drawn criticism from filmmakers and academics, who say they expose the selective application of creative freedom in Indian cinema.
The Galwan Valley clash in Ladakh in the summer of 2020 left
and four Chinese troops dead after both sides accused the other of crossing the disputed Line of Actual Control.
Following several rounds of talks, the two countries reached a border disengagement and patrolling agreement in October 2024, aimed at easing tensions while expanding cooperation on trade, security and multilateral diplomacy.
Political analyst Sanjay Kumar said the government’s directive to modify films dealing with the clash was aimed at protecting the national interest.
“The issue is sensitive to the government and improving relationships with neighbours is always a good move, but at what cost needs to be figured out,” he said.
Kumar, a former director of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in New Delhi, added that advance guidance from government was preferable to forcing changes on a film after shooting had wrapped.
Chinese state media had heavily criticised the teaser of Khan’s film, accusing it of distorting historical facts, promoting nationalist propaganda and misrepresenting Chinese sovereignty.
Reports suggest that 40 per cent of the film was reshot and that filmmakers were forced to replace direct references to China with vague euphemisms.
Originally scheduled for an April 17 release, the film has yet to receive a “No Objection Certificate” from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Because of the subject’s geopolitical sensitivity, the makers must first obtain clearance from the Indian Army and the Ministry of Defence before applying for CBFC certification.
Producer Himalay Dassani, who was developing The Lion of Galwan – a film based on the life of Vir Chakra awardee Sepoy Gurtej Singh, killed during the Galwan clash – has put the project on hold. The Vir Chakra is India’s third-highest wartime military gallantry award.
“After we complete the script, we will have to submit it to the Ministry of Defence before we begin shooting. Also, we have received a directive from them that there cannot be China-bashing,” Dassani said in an interview with Mid-day.
“If the fight and the reasons behind the clash are non-existent, there is no use in making a movie on it.”
Ira Bhaskar, a retired professor of cinema studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University’s School of Arts and Aesthetics, said producers had long sought subjects celebrating the heroism of India’s armed forces.
“With Pakistan, it is easy to do, but with China, it isn’t,” she said. “We have a sensitive relationship with China. Freedom of expression in India always comes with caveats tied to India’s relationship with its neighbours and its sovereignty. The government is keen that only its narrative should be supported by filmmakers. It makes freedom of expression an illusion.”
Selective creative freedom
Onir, an Indian filmmaker and producer who is best known mononymously, said the contrast illustrated a selective concept of creative freedom in Indian cinema.
He pointed to The Kerala Story – depicting the alleged radicalisation of Muslim women in Kerala – which was defended in the name of creative expression, while Punjab 95, based on the life of human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, faced far greater official resistance.
“How can bashing China not be OK, but bashing Pakistan is? It was China who played an important role in helping Pakistan during India’s Operation Sindoor,” Onir said, referring to last year’s brief armed conflict between India and Pakistan.
Documentary filmmaker Aditi Sharma gave another example: Dhurandhar, a recent two-part action thriller centred on Indian intelligence operations against Pakistan, which faced no comparable restrictions.
“No title changes, no reshoots, no Defence Ministry directives,” she said. “In fact, the chief minister of Assam publicly declared that whoever watches Dhurandhar would vote for the BJP [the country’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party]. So the message is clear: you can use cinema as a blunt instrument against Pakistan, but China is off-limits. This is not a principle – it is foreign policy by proxy.”
Sharma, who serves as festival director of India Doc Fest, said that at the event’s inaugural edition last October, three documentary films were withdrawn after the government denied permission for their public exhibition. “The censorship issue that starts with what you write goes all the way to where you show it,” she said.
Bollywood had long profited from nationalist narratives, so “when that same industry now finds that the government’s foreign policy has shifted and their war film is suddenly inconvenient, the outrage feels hollow”, Sharma said.
“You cannot profit from propaganda and then claim to be surprised when the state that enabled it also decides to control it.”
Retired Indian Army Major General G.D. Bakshi broadly backed the government’s approach, however.
“If China wants a thaw, why should India go around picking a fight?” Bakshi asked. “If the government is saying to redo some scenes … there is some rational thinking behind it.
“India’s relations with the US are not very rosy, and a lot of bitterness has come in after Trump’s tariff moves,” he added. “Under such an atmosphere, if both countries want better relations, it is a logical thing, for the time being, to avoid such things [nationalistic narratives in films].”
Bakshi said that Indian soldiers’ courage at Galwan would eventually be recognised on screen, but that timing mattered. “We have made films on the 1962 and 1967 wars [with China] at the right time,” he said. “At the right time, we will make films on their valour and sacrifice also.”
