Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar’s latest outing “BellBottom” has been reportedly banned in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait due to distortion of certain facts.
Set in the 1980s, the spy thriller is based on true events, where Akshay plays an intelligence agent with codename 'BellBottom' who spearheads the mission to rescue 210 hostages from a hijacked Indian plane.
As per a report by Bollywood Hungama, the second half of the film shows the hijackers taking the aircraft to Dubai from Lahore. However, in reality, the 1984 incident involved U.A.E Defence Minister, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum handling the situation personally and it was them who nabbed the hijackers.
The film instead shows Akshay and other Indian characters take the credit.
While “BellBottom” has been released in cinemas across certain Indian states, Maharashtra is yet to take a call on re-opening cinemas.
On the other hand, director Ranjit M Tewari told PTI that all characters in the film including that of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, have been dealt with maturity.
Tewari said the team ensured no "cinematic liberties" were taken with Gandhi's character.
"We have been extremely responsible in writing that character. We didn't think, 'For cinematic liberty, let's do this.' We were sure where we were going with that. The CBFC has also passed it without any cuts." The director said the film's story required Gandhi's presence and there was no attempt to use her for effect.
"There was no requirement for us to get into a space where unnecessary questions and problems are created. There was no requirement in the script. All characters in the film have been dealt with maturity from our end," the director, who made his debut with the 2017 Farhan Akhtar-led "Lucknow Central", added.
"BellBottom", also stars Lara Dutta, Vaani Kapoor, and Huma Qureshi.
Published on: Monday,August 23, 2021, 10:27 AM IST
