Yash Raj Films Apologizes for Gunday

Gunday was released by Yash Raj Films in Mumbai, India on February 14. Ali Abbas Zafar, in the movie, has managed to not only disrespect the history of Bangladesh Liberation War, but has also severely misrepresented historical facts. Later, on February 20, Yash Raj Films apologized for their mistake. In this connection, the movie production house posted on their Facebook page, "Dear friends, several of our Bangladeshi brethren have reached out to us with their concerns on the way the story has been portrayed and we would like to apologize if any disrespect or hurt has been caused to them.” They also added that the story of the film is completely fictional. It was not their intention to show disrespect any race, creed, or any person in the society. In the very beginning of the film Gunday, it is shown that the third war between India and Pakistan ends on 16 December 1971, and 90,000 Pakistani soldiers surrender to the Indian army. Bangladesh, a new country, is born as a result. When the Indian soldiers are seen leaving Dhaka, two 11-12 years olds are seen behind the barbed wires, Vikram and Bala. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's poster is seen at the back. The movie completely ignores Bangladesh, and puts Indian presence in Bangladesh's Liberation War at the center stage, without even mentioning the Liberation War. As a result of this, the film's international image, especially on the Internet and social networking sites, has been marred severely, including an IMDB rating of 1.2 out of 10 from tens of thousands of users.