Bhuj: The Pride of India tells the story of the 1971 war between India and Pakistan. Pakistani troops stormed Bhuj airbase. The runway was built by 300 women living in Madhapar village.
Highlights:
- ‘Bhuj: The Pride of India’ the story is shown with some cinematic concessions.
- The sound and visuals are good but the VFX of the film is very weak.
- The story of the film could have been written with a little more caution.
Actors – Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, Sharad Kelkar, Sonakshi Sinha, Nora Fatehi, Amy Virk
Director- Abhishek Dudhaiya
Series – Hindi, War, History, Action, Drama
Time- 1 hour 57 minutes
Rating -3 / 5
The story
Bhuj: The Pride of India tells the story of the 1971 war between India and Pakistan. Pakistani troops stormed Bhuj airbase. After which 300 women living in the nearby village of Madhapar risked their lives to build an overnight runway for the Indian Air Force. So that Indian soldiers could fly.
Bhuj Airbase Squadron Leader Vijay Karnik (Ajay Devgn) inspired the locals to repair the runway strip. The film is a reminder of the assistance rendered by the citizens of the country to the Indian Armed Forces in times of crisis.
Review
The Indo-Pakistani war of 1971 was the result of the story of Bangladesh’s independence. India helped East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to free itself from the tyranny of West Pakistan (now Pakistan).
The red-faced Pakistan invaded India’s Western Region so that it could later get the deal back to East Pakistan. It was under this tactic that the Indian airbase was bombed. Bhuj Air Base was one of the key locations of the Indian Air Force and was badly damaged in the attack.
On the night of December 8, Pakistan Air Force fighter jets dropped more than 14 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on the Indian airbase in Bhuj. This caused the entire runway to collapse and made the landing and takeoff of the aircraft impossible.
The attack was carried out on all the roads connecting Bhuj besides the runway, which also took time for the Border Security Force to reach there. At that time, the Indian Air Force did not have enough workers to repair the runway. During this difficult time 300 locals of Madhapar village showed patriotism and most of them were women.
The locals repaired the runway of the airbase within 72 hours to save the country from falling into the hands of the enemy. Director Abhishek Dudhaiya’s film ‘Bhuj: The Pride of India’ is the story of these extraordinary warriors and heroes, which is important to know.
The makers of ‘Bhuj: The Pride of India’ had earlier clarified in the disclaimer that the story of this film is inspired by a true incident but is fictional. Meaning, history is shown on the film screen with a little cinematic relaxation. The film often deviates from the nuances of the story.
The story of the film also shows emotional hymns along with military operations.
After the runway was repaired, people sang hymns and played drums in a loud voice when in fact it was a secret operation. The real story is that the women of Bhuj wear green clothes and apply dung bands on their bodies to avoid the gaze of enemies.
Thus, the drama could have been ignored but it is inappropriate to put logic in such a serious story. The story of the film could have been written with a little more caution.
The first half of the film seems to be littered with heaps of cameo characters and unwarranted bravery speeches. Attack of Bhuj Airbase is shown above and below. However, in the second half the film arrives at its own real location, on which the story is based. However, the story of the film is gripping.
The scene of the plane landing with the help of trucks ranging from 120 soldiers engaged in Vidhakot post and national security is strong. The battle between the fighter planes in the sky will continue.
Sound and visuals are placed with the big screen in mind. But the film’s VFX is quite normal when the sound manages to take you to the battlefield. Ajay Devgn has slow motion shorts and he is immersed in his character. Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha, Sharad Kelkar, Nora Fatehi, Amy Virk have done their job well. Navni Parihar has made a good cameo in the role of Indira Gandhi.
Why watch
The film can be watched if you can ignore religious propaganda and just focus on the story.
