The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused a petition by Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Indian Air Force(IAF) that sought to stay the streaming of Netflix movie Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl which is bases on the life of former Flight Lieutenant Gunjan Saxena.
Justice Rajiv Sakdher told additional solicitor-general (ASG) Sanjay Jain that the MoD should have taken the step earlier as the movie has already released and an interim injunction on the movie cannot be granted.
He also made Ms Saxena a party in the plea filed by MoD and IAF and demanded her direct response on the issue. The high court has also sought the response of Karan Johar led Dharma production which produced the film and Over The Top(OTT) streaming platform, Netflix, where the film has released. The next hearing has been now scheduled on September 18.
The plea filed by MoD and IAF, through the Central government stated that the makers of the film had presented IAF in bad light deliberately. The mentioned that the IAF “has always provided equal opportunities to the meritorious officers irrespective of their gender, caste, religion and region, etc.”
The plea also said that the makers of the film had represented the movie was based on the life of an IAF officer, Gunjan Saxen, therefore, the force agreed to provide all the possible assistance for an authentic and realistic portrayal of the facts.
The plea alleged that the makers didn’t reveal that film will showcase the misogyny angle in the force, leading to the negative portrayal of the air force.
The plea argued that the pact was a prerequisite under the 2013 guidelines and the “in-principle” approval accorded to the makers of the film was at all times subject to the execution of the said MoU.
“Such a movie cannot be fictionalised or dramatised to such an extent as in the present movie, wherein an entirely different perspective is created based on false and misleading facts/ events that leaves an adverse impression in the minds of the viewers, thereby tarnishing the image of the true characters and the organisation,” the Ministry argued.
The plea also stated that the final output of the film was not shown to a preview committee before the release and the makers went ahead without taking a no objection certificate from the force in question.
Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl was released on August 11 and stars Janhvi Kapoor in the titular role. The film also features Pankaj Tripathi and Angad Bedi in pivotal roles.