Mrityunjay Devrat the director of the controversial film Children Of War on Bangladesh's 1971 war of liberation which snuffed thousands of lives and rendered thousands homeless , many of them refugees in India, is outraged by the way the Bangladesh conflict has been depicted in Yashraj Films' Gunday.
Speaking forthrightly on Gunday Devrat says, `If I am allowed to be honest , then I'd have to say that the makers of Gunday have been factually incorrect. I think it is hugely irresponsible and derogatory to use a sensitive subject such as the Bangladesh war for purely commercial purposes.`
At the same Devrat is happy that the subject of the Bangladesh war has been brought into the public forum. `Now a lot more people know about it. But I am hugely disappointed at the lack of attention that Gunday pays to historic details.`
The director, however, doesn't feel the frivolity of the histroric content in Gunday would affect his Bangladesh film. `With all due respect, no bad film can damage our film. Children Of War has been made with a lot of labour and love. We've tried protect the sensitivities of all those involved . A movie like Gunday aims only at the boxoffice. We are trying to tell the true story of a genocide that shook the conscience of the Asian subcontinent .Unlike Gunday, our film will not be seen and forgotten.`
Devrat feels films guilty of historical inaccuracy are soon forgotten. `History remains history.A factually incorrect book or film cannot change history. I heard Priyanka Chopra saying on television that the the 1971 war led to a partition between India and Bangladesh. The ignorance in Bollywood is unbelievable. I think Indian audiences are tired of being taken for granted.`
