On July 4, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi presented a special screening of the movie 72 Hoorain amid controversy. In the film 72 Hoorain, which was directed by Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan and co-produced by Ashoke Pandit, 72 virgins are purportedly promised to men once they die for their religion and enter heaven. The lead actors are Pavan Malhotra and Aamir Bashir.
On social media, there are a number of insider videos and images from the movie’s premiere at JNU.
Ashoke Pandit and Pavan Malhotra may be seen shouting “Jai Hind” inside the auditorium in one of the recordings. The actor also expressed delight about his first trip to JNU.
“Hume pata hai ye film saare records cross karegi. Puri duniya ye film dekhne jaayegi aur humari iss mehnat ko safal banayegi,” Ashoke Pandit is heard saying in the video.
To this, Pavan Malhotra adds, “Records cross kare na kare, hume ek baat kehni thi aur humne film bana di. Aaplog ko bhi dedh ghante mein pata lag jaayega hum kya kehna chah rahe hai. Humne koi galat chiz nahi boli hai.”
In another viral video, Pandit said that the film is against terrorism. “Those who call our films propaganda, this is a befitting reply to them,” he says.
The film’s creators had previously stated that the JNU screening of 72 Hoorain gives a crucial opportunity for Kashmiri Muslims and other students to share their opinions and views to a work that explores the brutal realities of terrorist camps.
JNU has a history of contentious movie release situations, and various contentious films have also previously been played there. The matter can become even more complicated with 72 Hoorain.
A few political parties with ties to Kashmir have objected to the movie’s depiction of terrorist brainwashing in the meantime. These political parties worry that the movie’s plot may serve to reinforce unfavourable preconceptions and distort the complex dynamics.
The politicians believe that the movie might present an inaccurate or partial image of the dynamics of the faith.
A number of lawmakers also claimed that the movie was propaganda intended to incite hatred against a specific group of people.
Not only that, but the film’s creators asserted that the Censor Board refused to approve the trailer and required them to cut key phrases and sequences from it that had otherwise been approved for the final, theatrical cut of the movie.
The movie will premiere in theatres on July 7.
