War Of Narratives - Pakistani Film ‘Dhai Chaal’ Aims To Counter Shahrukh Khan’s ‘Bard Of Blood’

War Of Narratives - Pakistani Film ‘Dhai Chaal’ Aims To Counter Shahrukh Khan’s ‘Bard Of Blood’
India and Pakistan have been arch-rivals for decades, fighting each other in all forms of offensives from conventional confrontations to non-conventional proxy war, aimed at exposing alleged 'agendas' to destabilise each other.
The powerful Indian media industry has strong following in Pakistan and across the globe with die-hard fans of Indian actors who sit anxiously to see their favorite movies and actors on the big screens.
However, Pakistan has recently decided to ban screening of Indian films, Blocking release of Indian films that portray Pakistan negatively has been a consistent practice by the country’s censor board, leaving millions of fans of Indian movies starving for quality content.

Films like 'Ek Tha Tiger', 'Tiger Zinda Hai', 'Agent Vinod' and others were banned from releasing in Pakistan because of the alleged negative portrayal of the country’s armed forces and presentation of Pakistan as a promoter of terrorism and extremism.

Pakistani filmmakers and the government at large believe that Indian media industry uses its platform to promote its anti-Pakistan narrative.

India has always reminded Pakistan of the worsening situation in Balochistan, while Pakistan has countered the allegation, accusing New Delhi for actively affiliating with extremist groups to destabilise the province through its intelligence agencies.

The recent Netflix series “Bard of Blood” started by Emraan Hashmi showcased how four Indian Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) agents were captured by the Pakistani agencies and how Emraan Hashmi alias Kabir Anand took on a cover mission in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.

Meanwhile, a Pakistani filmmaker has taken it upon himself to take on the mighty King Khan’s production by his film ‘Dhai Chaal’. The film is Pakistan’s first to have been completely shot in Balochistan. It is aimed at showing how Balochistan became the center of attraction of Indian spy agency RAW, who penetrated into the region and empowered, facilitated, funded and armed extremist groups to carry out terror strikes.

The film also showcases Kulbashan Jadhav role as one of the Indian agents with an assignment to create unrest and promote an anti-Pakistan movement through locals sources. The film has a star-studded cast of Pakistan’s leading actors including Shamoon Abbasi, who plays the role of Kulbashan Jadhav, a RAW agent from India, Ayesha Omer, who plays the role of a journalist seeking the reality of the unrest in Balochistan along with other leading and prominent Pakistani actors.

“The story is about the sacrifices of people in Balochistan, who went through a lot of hard times to reinstate peace in the region”, said Ayesha Omar.

Shamoon Abbasi, a man known for his intense acting and taking on sensitive topics to film, is playing the role of Kulbashan Jadhav, whose role is create and cause chaos within the province.

“My role is based on the events of Kulbashan Jadhav, the RAW agent from India that was appointed to create chaos in the region of Balochistan and damage any relations between Pakistan and China”, said Shamood Abbasi.
The film counters the narrative showcased in Shahrukh Khan’s Barb of Blood through its targeted film-making about how Indian intelligence is operating in Balochistan and how people of Balochistan suffered hard times to regain peace in the region.

“Its about everything they gave up, it's the story of students, of journalists”, said Ayesha Omar.
The film producer and the brain behind the film Dr. Irfan Ashraf said the film gives recognition to the Balochistan province, its culture, its rituals and shows how badly the people suffered due to the destabilization and how they overcame it.

"The film is very close to my heart. I have traveled to every edge of Balochistan and understand the sufferings of the locals. I have been working in Balochistan for the past 15 years and have always felt that this region does not get the importance it deserves”, said Dr. Irfan Ashraf.

“Dhai Chaal will show the true reality of Balochistan. It will show how India and Afghanistan teamed up to damage this province. How anti-Pakistan groups were facilitated, recruited and used to kill innocent people of this province. How the courageous people of this province took it upon themselves to counter these evil forces. And how their fight back attracted China to initiate China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Gawadar”, Dr. Ashraf added.
Dr. Ashraf rejected the claim that his movie Dhai Chaal is funded by the Pakistan Army the ISPR and insisted that it is a private project.

The films is all set for a launch as its promo will be launched in the coming days, while the premier is expected to be during May 2020.

The film will be premiered at global level as its screening will be done in Russia, China, Turkey, Malaysia and Pakistan. The film will also be subtitled in different languages including Mandarin, Turkish, English and Russian.