New Delhi: After the Pakistani army and the government, it’s the film industry there that has taken it upon itself to propagate the country’s narrative while calling India the bad guy. Dhai Chaal, which was released Friday, is being touted as the answer to India’s ‘propaganda’ films on TV debates and social media.
Director Taimoor Sherazi’s film depicts the struggles of Balochistan natives in Pakistan and follows the storyline of Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian national in Pakistan’s captivity who has been accused of espionage.
Pakistanis are cheering on ‘Pakistan’s response to Indian narratives about their country.’ Across social media, many saw the film as a response to Salman Khan’s November release, Tiger 3.
For Shamoon Abbasi, the actor playing the role of Jadhav, the film is not a propaganda movie and the makers have deliberately tried to not make it one.
“It is a sensitive issue and it is high time we speak for Pakistan. Indian films are propaganda films that continuously depict all Muslims and especially Pakistanis as terrorists and we never give them a response, we don’t defend ourselves against the narratives. The directors have now given a message,” he told Samaa TV.
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Counter-narrative to Indian films
The two-minute, 46-second-long trailer of the film depicts Pakistanis trying to refute Indian narratives, from the 2008 Mumbai attacks to Pulwama, and claiming that India is behind all of that. The narrative of Dhai Chaal revolves around India’s alleged involvement in terrorism in Pakistan, presenting a counter-narrative to what the producers perceive as India’s misleading portrayal of events through its films and propaganda.
Irfan Ashraf, the film’s producer, claimed that India was manipulating global perceptions through false films and propaganda, and Dhai Chaal aimed to expose the “real face of India and its lies” to the world.
Abbasi agreed with Ashraf in an interview with Samaa TV.
“It is not that we have any enmity with India. Indian audiences are very receptive to us and so are we. We just need to speak up on the political disorder and it is an answer to that,” Abbasi said.
“Yeh Bollywood nahi hai, jahan tum Indians her jang jeet jaate ho (This is not Bollywood, where you Indians win every war),” Abbasi said in the film.
In an interview with Hum TV, Sherazi said, “It is time a message goes from our side as well. It is time the truth is shown”
Some chose to focus on the title, Dhai Chaal, or the knight’s move in chess terms—it suggests a strategic approach to addressing the issues at hand.
An X user tweeted, “On the chessboard lies and hypocrisy do not survive long…and hence “Dhai Chaal” exposes Indian hypocrisy and propaganda at all its seams…”
The trailer, which was released a year ago, has more than 3,000 comments with many commending the directors and calling it a “response to India’s army biographies”.
The film’s premiere in Islamabad was attended by Nawabzada Mir Jamal Khan, the Minister of Youth, Cultural Affairs & Sports in Balochistan. He is also the son of the late Balochistan tribal and political leader, Shaheed Mir Siraj Khan Raisani. Taking to X, Nawabzada tweeted that the film “highlights the sacrifices of Baloch patriots” and helps discover the “transformative impact of CPEC in Balochistan.”