After Article 370 revocation, Bollywood production houses race to register Kashmir-related film titles

Within days of the government announcing the revocation of Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir, Bollywood filmmakers have rushed to register film titles related to the decision. According to a report by The Quint , around 20 to 30 producers have approached the Indian Motion Pictures’ Producers’ Association (IMPPA) to register the titles Article 370 and Article 35A, taking cue from Ayushmann Khurrana’s recent social drama Article 15 . [caption id=“attachment_7125231” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] CRPF personnel stand guard during restrictions at Raghunath Bazar in Jammu. Image from PTI[/caption] Other titles are Kashmir Hamara Hai and the Hindi translation of Article 370 and Article 35A - Dhara 370 and Dhara 35A. Article 370 Scrapped, Article 35A, Article 370 Abolished, Article 35A Scrapped and, Kashmir Mein Tiranga are also in demand, reports Livemint.  The applications will be reviewed by IMPPA for approval soon. Mumbai Mirror mentions that some of the filmmakers, who were the first to book these names were Anand Pandit, producer of PM Narendra Modi and Vijay Gilani, who is behind films like Veer (2010) and Ajnabee (2001). News18 writes that following the Pulwama terror attack on 14 February, which left over 40 CRPF personnel dead, Bollywood producers had registered titles like Abhinandan in reference to the Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, who was taken into custody by the Pakistani Army after his plane crashed in Pakistani territory. Under severe pressure from India and several other nations, Pakistan released Abhinandan on 1 March. The IMPPA registered at least 34 titles, which include: Balakot, Pulwama, The Air Strike Of Pulwama, The Air Strike, India Strikes Back, 14th Feb 2019 Pulwama Attack, Surgical Strike 2.0, Surgical Strike 2.0 Code Pulwama, Zero Mercy Pulwama, Indian Strikes Code Pulwama and Josh Is High. Bollywood has always created films based on nationalistic and patriotic themes. The recent ones include Alia Bhatt-starrer _ Raazi (_which went on to gross Rs 122.39 crore), Akshay Kumar’s Kesari  (Rs 151.87 crore) and Vicky Kaushal’s  Uri: The Surgical Strike  (Rs 244 crore). Uri was re-released across Maharashtra on Kargil Vijay Diwas (26 July).