Indian Army Chief M M Naravane while speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the golden jubilee celebrations (1971-2021) of the Television Wing of the Film and Television Institute of India hailed the mainstream cinema in reinforcing core values, preserving the diverse culture of the country and galvanizing it at the time of crisis.
The Chief of Army Staff however complained about the stereotyping of characters of the Indian Armed Forces and advised against the stereotyping of communities and characters of the military.
“On a lighter note, I have always found the stereotyping of Indian (armed forces) officers in the films, both amusing and intriguing. The beautiful heroine’s father is always a ‘khadoos’ (rude, snobbish) colonel, wearing a silk gown with whisky in one hand and a shotgun in the other. That really intrigues me,” General M M Naravane says during the event.
Meanwhile, the Indian Army has disclosed that the Indian and Chinese forces have retreated from their respective standoff positions at Ghogra friction point of eastern Ladakh, thus completing the disengagement process there.
After complete disengagement from the friction points near Pangong Tso and Ghogra heights, the 972 sq km Depsang Plains remains the only concern for India. The Chinese have been blocking India’s patrol from bottleneck areas to PP11, PP12, PP12A and PP13. Subsequently, the Indian forces also started blocking Chinese patrols from coming beyond the bottleneck area. When the current border tensions started, the Indian government disclosed that the Depsang issue started much before the Chinese intruded into other parts of Ladakh.
M M Naravane said, “The Army stands ‘strong’ and ‘tall’ in face of challenges on ‘active, unsettled’ borders.” Referring to Pakistan and China, he said the exigencies on our active and unsettled borders, both west and north, have only increased in the times of the pandemic.
Talking about how films have projected the military’s role in a conflict with our enemies he saId movies have been able to capture the imagination of the nation.
“War movies had always an enduring impact on people of all ages, especially our youth. These films have immortalized our soldiers in the hearts of every Indian. “We have grown up watching these films, which have captured the valour of armed forces. It served to reinforce the supreme sacrifice of a soldier in national conscious,” he said.
