New Delhi: The Indian Air Force Wednesday asked Netflix to withdraw some scenes from the upcoming movie ‘AK vs AK’ for incorrect use of uniform and inappropriate language.
In a tweet, the IAF said the uniform in the teaser was “inaccurately donned” and the language was also “inappropriate”, asking Netflix to withdraw the scenes.
“The IAF uniform in this video is inaccurately donned & the language used is inappropriate. This does not conform to the behavioural norms of those in the Armed Forces of India. The related scenes need to be withdrawn,” read the tweet.
The IAF uniform in this video is inaccurately donned & the language used is inappropriate. This does not conform to the behavioural norms of those in the Armed Forces of India. The related scenes need to be withdrawn.@NetflixIndia @anuragkashyap72#AkvsAk https://t.co/F6PoyFtbuB
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) December 9, 2020
Netflix responded to IAF’s objections and said that that it did not intend to “disrespect the Armed Forces of India”. The streaming service clarified in a tweet Wednesday that the actors are playing themselves in the film.
“At no point does the film represent the Indian Air Force or our Armed Forces. We have nothing but the highest respect for the brave people protecting our nation,” the tweet added.
At no point does the film represent the Indian Air Force or our Armed Forces. We have nothing but the highest respect for the brave people protecting our nation.
— Netflix India (@NetflixIndia) December 9, 2020
In a teaser from the movie, released Monday, actor Anil Kapoor can be seen abusing, dancing and beating up people in a Commodore uniform. Kapoor shared the teaser on Twitter.
Sources in the IAF told ThePrint that a formal letter has also been sent to Netflix asking them to withdraw the scenes, along with the Ministry of Defence.
The film has been directed by Vikramaditya Motwani and stars Anil Kapoor and Anurag Kashyap in lead roles. It will premier on Netflix on 24 December.
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‘Uniforms are earned’
Air Vice Marshal (retd) Manmohan Bahadur, a former IAF pilot, had also objected to Kapoor’s uniform in the film Tuesday.
“SERIOUSLY – is this for real? The use of an IAF uniform for such trash? Oh c’mon!” tweeted Bahadur, who is the additional director-general of Centre for Air Power Studies, a defence research body. He also tagged Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, the defence Ministry, the Indian Air Force, the Army and the Navy in his tweet.
SERIOUSLY – is this for real? The use of an IAF uniform for such trash?
Oh c'mon! @OfficeOfRSP @rsprasad @SpokespersonMoD @adgpi @IAF_MCC @indiannavy https://t.co/zrN102mWU6
— Manmohan Bahadur (@BahadurManmohan) December 8, 2020
After the IAF’s tweet, the defence ministry’s public relations officer from Udhampur also tweeted about the importance of uniforms.
“Uniforms are earned, they embody the Core Values of an organization & they are part of the unique legacy which an organization inherits.”
It was retweeted by A. Bharat Bhushan Babu, principal spokesperson of the Ministry of Defence.
According to IAF sources, the further course of action will be deliberated upon after receiving a response from Netflix and the producers of the movie.
This is not the first time the Indian Air Force has objected to a film.
In August 2020, the IAF had written to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) about the force’s “undue negative portrayal” in the Netflix movie Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, starring Janhvi Kapoor.
The Ministry of Defence and the IAF had also approached the Delhi High Court noting the movie’s makers had “projected their commercial film as a historical biopic and distorted the true and correct facts, purely for sensationalising the same in order to make commercial gains”.
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