The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to stay the streaming of Netflix movie Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl while hearing a plea filed by the Central government and the IAF seeking a stay on its release. “Injunction cannot be granted because the movie is already out. You should have come at the first instance,” the court said.
Appearing for the Central government, additional solicitor general Sanjay Jain said that the film showed the Indian Air Force as an organisation which practised gender bias. Meanwhile senior Advocate Harish Salve who appeared for Dharma Productions replied that the movie was only “inspired” from the life of Gunjan Saxena. The film was released on 12 August and the matter would be heard next on 18 September. The plea said that the portrayal of various characters of the film who are shown as officers of the Indian Air Force was extremely objectionable in as much as it showed them as male chauvinist and disrespectful towards the idea of a woman as being capable to be at par with men. “It is respectfully submitted that the Indian Air Force is opposed to such perception of women and its officers being shown as believing in such perceptions is the worst kind of falsehood, that can be spread against it, in as much as, such a portrayal shakes the very roots of the principles on which the India Air Force is built around and takes pride in,” the plea said.
The petitioners alleged that Dharma Productions and Netflix dramatised and sensationalised the movie to achieve commercial gains and depicted a distorted version of the culture and ethics followed in the Indian Air Force, particularly in the context of treatment of women in general and lady officers.
“A completely wrong and baseless portrayal of gender bias is attributed to the Indian Air Force, as evident from the scenes showing flight lieutenant Gunjan Saxena (retd) while she was in service, being ill-treated on account of her gender. The said depiction is absolutely false,” the plea added.