Chief of Army Staff General Bipin Rawat has warned soldiers that they should not use social media to express their grievances with working conditions, even as yet another video surfaced from a private gathering. Should Rawat also issue a stern warning to Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to cease and desist from trying to piggyback on the Army to further his film career?
While the rest of us were recovering from the surgical strike on Pakistan, the ban on Pakistani artists performing in India, and demonetisation, Singh was putting the finishing touches to his new movie. Hind Ka NaPak Ko Jawab is the fourth film by the cult leader, whose ability to raise money for his productions must be the envy of cash-strapped Bollywood studios. According to a press release, Singh, who has added the honorific “Dr.” to his name, said, “I salute the spirit of Indian Army and want to bring their great work to the public through my film.”
A song from the movie landed in our midst on Army Day. In Jung Hai Humri Aatankwad Se, Singh flies through the air above the mustard fields of Punjab on a pink motorcycle that has magical wings. Once on earth, Singh, his adopted daughter Honeypreet Insan (who is the movie’s co-director), and a posse of men in Army uniforms perform choreographed moves while periodically shooting guns in the air. “Whoever thinks ill of my country, I destroy them,” growls Singh (credited with music, lyrics and musical arrangement). Next, Singh and his posse keep running through a desert waving the poor Indian flag, which has never looked more forlorn.
This is the only the beginning. Expect more songs, and finally, the movie itself.