Abhishek Dudhaiya is the director of the 2021 Indian military film Bhuj: The Pride of India. The story, which takes place in 1971 during the Indo-Pakistani War, centres on Indian Air Force Squadron Leader Vijay Karnik, who was in charge of the Bhuj Air Force Base at the time. With the assistance of 300 local women, he was able to rebuild the damaged landing strip in only 72 hours. Along with Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha, Nora Fatehi, Sharad Kelkar, Ammy Virk, and Ihana Dhillon, the movie also stars Ajay Devgn as Karnik.
In Hyderabad, Kutch, Bhopal, Indore, Lucknow, Goregaon, Kolkata, and Dubai, principal photography began in June 2019. Filming was 90% complete when the COVID-19 shutdown in India forced a production halt in March 2020. Devgn Resumed Filming in November 2020 and finished the picture in March 2021, putting the movie into post-production.
After being postponed by the pandemic from its initial 14 August 2020 Independence Day weekend release date, it ultimately debuted on Disney+ Hotstar on August 13, 2021. The majority of the reviews for the movie were unfavourable, and the critics berated the writing, pacing, and implausible plot points of the movie.
Premise
The airfield at the Bhuj Base is damaged by enemy aircraft at the start of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, cutting off reinforcement supplies from mainland India. Despite 300 local women, under the direction of the base’s commander Squadron leader Vijay Karnik, rebuilding the airbase despite being fired at by the enemy, a small squad of Indian Army soldiers stands guard in Bhuj to prevent an invasion. The Pakistani Prime Minister speaks at the beginning of the movie about annexing parts of India. It is revealed that the wife of a Pakistani army commander is an Indian spy who came to exact revenge for the murder of her brother, who was apprehended and brutally murdered. She was nevertheless also apprehended and handed the same fate as her brother.
Development
Bhuj: The Pride of India, starring Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, Parineeti Chopra, Sonakshi Sinha, Rana Daggubati (who subsequently quit the movie), and Ammy Virk, was unveiled on March 19, 2019. Together with Bhushan Kumar of T-Series, Panorama Studios, and Select Media Holdings LLP, Devgn handled the producing duties in addition to his acting commitments. He also served as the action director for two of the movie’s scenes. It was planned to be South Indian actress Pranitha Subhash’s first Hindi film, directed by up-and-comer Abhishek Dudhaiya, but it ended up being her second, following Hungama 2. Chopra left the movie in November 2019 because the rolling dates conflicted with those of her other movie Saina, and Nora Fatehi later took her place. In January 2020, Sharad Kelkar took over for Daggubati, who had also left the role owing to health issues.
Filming
The film’s producers had planned to start primary production in Gujarat at the end of October 2019 with a 20-day schedule, but instead, filming began on June 25, 2019, with Sanjay Dutt joining the crew. Devgn arrived on site in late July to work on the film’s opening and climax sequences as well as a song shoot in Mandvi. Bhopal, Kutch, Indore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata all saw filming. Throughout the filming in Bhopal in January 2020, a sizable set that resembled Pakistan was constructed.
Production was halted in March 2020 while the movie was 90% finished because of the COVID-19 shutdown in India, and it was further stalled again because of the new shooting regulations. After an 8-month break, Devgn resumed filming in Hyderabad on November 22, 2020, and the project was completed in March 2021. The film’s final schedule, which took place in July 2021, was completed in just six days.
Soundtrack
The film’s songs’ lyrics were written by Manoj Muntashir, Devshi Khanduri, Anil Verma, Manoj Kabir, Abhilash, and Vayu. At the same time, its music was created by Tanishk Bagchi, Gourov Dasgupta, Lijo George — DJ Chetas, Arko, Vipin Patwa, and Amar Mohile.
The song “Zaalima Coca Cola” is a remake of the song “Zalima Coca Cola Piya De” from the 1986 Pakistani Punjabi language film Chan Te Soorma, which was sung by Noor Jehan and had music by Taafu and lyrics by Khawaja Pervaiz but was cut from the movie and released as a single.
Release
The movie was originally slated to hit theatres on August 14, 2020, but the COVID-19 epidemic and production difficulties forced a postponement. As part of the Disney+ Hotstar Multiplex initiative, which was launched as a result of theatres being closed due to pandemic restrictions, Devgn announced the movie’s streaming release on June 29, 2020, during a virtual press conference hosted by the streaming service Disney+ Hotstar. The movie’s digital rights were sold for the sum of 112 crores.
The 13th season of the Indian Premier League, which takes place between September and November 2020, received priority on the streaming service Disney+ Hotstar, causing a significant delay in Bhuj: The Pride of India. The movie’s release date was set for the Independence Day weekend (13 August 2021) in a July 2021 announcement.
