Aditya Dhar reacts to Uri The Surgical Strike being called an ‘agenda-driven’ film, says Article 370’s intent is ‘pure’: ‘It champions women empowerment’

Talking about Article 370, Aditya Dhar shared that the film is based on the truth and “actually shows” what happened when the government initiated the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir. He also urged the audience to watch the film as it champions female empowerment.

He said, “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.”

Dhar, even after the success of his first film Uri: The Surgical Strike in 2019, which also won the National Award, faced severe criticism from a section of film critics and audiences. He says people called the film “agenda-driven” and “jingoistic”, but the masses proved them wrong.

He 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.

Talking about the flak that Uri received, Aditya Dhar said, “The audience is very intelligent. They understand the difference between an agenda-driven film and a film made with great intent. They also understand the difference between a project and a film. I remember many people trashed Uri at that time, but the audience basically shut them up with the way it went on. The fact is that nothing can be above the audience.”

Dhar also revealed that many people demotivated him from making a war film and told his co-producer Ronnie Screwvala not to make Uri as it would turn out to be a flop. He shared, “When people say that a certain genre doesn’t work in India, I really like it, because people said that about Uri also. I was told war films in India don’t work. They said, ‘After Border in 1997, Lakshya and LOC came, but none of those films made any money, so don’t make.’ Many people told Ronnie (Screwvala) not to make this film because it will flop. But I really enjoy taking it up as a challenge. The moment Uri came out, suddenly there was a spate of war films, army films. It’s much more fun to create a new genre rather than following the herd, like ‘arre aaj kal market mein romantic comedy chal rahi hai, action film chal rahi hai, aap bhi bana do (nowadays romantic comedies and action films are working so make one of those).’ That for me is not exciting. Creating a new trend excites me.”

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After making a political drama post the success of Uri, which was a military actioner, Dhar says he is now open to making films in different genres. In fact, his line-up is filled with genre-breaking films. He shared, “I want to make everything. My next film, in all probability, is going to be Dhoom Dhaam, which is a brilliant action comedy. It is genuinely a funny film. The third film coming out after that is Baramulla, which is a horror film, a paranormal thriller. It is an absolutely new genre that has never been done in India before. It is an investigative paranormal thriller action film.”

“So, my intent has been that whatever project we are doing, like say with Uri, it was an army action film, this (Article 370) is a political drama, the next one is a comedy action thriller, the third one is a paranormal psychological thriller, every film has to offer something absolutely new,” he concluded.