Uri: A BJP Films Division show!

After watching Uri: The Surgical Strike, Syed Firdaus Ashraf gets the feeling that Modi has added another tool to help him win the 2019 Lok Sabha election: Hindi cinema...

Back in 2014, my colleague Sheela Bhatt revealed how Narendra Damodardas Modi was changing the campaign strategy for that year's Lok Sabha election.

Modi demolished his rivals with money power, human resources power, clever deployment of mobile technology, adroit use of the Internet and masterful tactical planning. He was the first prime minister in 30 years to win a single party majority in the Lok Sabha.

After watching Uri: The Surgical Strike, one gets the feeling that Modi has added yet another tool to help him win the 2019 Lok Sabha election: Hindi cinema.

Whatever its makers may say, Uri is a movie with the election in mind, releasing just weeks before Indians go to vote.

The Accidental Prime Minister, which releases on the same day as Uri, is another example of the 'BJP Films Division', where its makers lampoon Sonia and Rahul Gandhi.

BJP MP Paresh Rawal takes the propaganda forward by playing National Security Advisor Ajit Doval in Uri. And, of course, he does a brilliant job.

Uri begins with an Indian Army convoy being attacked in Manipur and soldiers getting killed.

The army's counterattack in Myanamar is led by Major Vihaan Singh Shergill (Vicky Kaushal).

Soon after that successful military offensive, Shergill wants to resign from the army for personal reasons. Instead, he is given a posting at army headquarters.

By whom?

The prime minister (Rajit Kapur) and Rawal's National Security Advisor no less!

Is this how Indian Army postings are done?

General Vijay Kishore Singh, the former army chief who is now a junior minister for external affairs, may not like my query, but, General, a presstitute's job in a democracy is to ask questions.

Shergill keeps his job in the army and does routine desk work when the Uri attack occurs.

He then leads the surgical strike at terrorist camps in Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

Rukhsar Rehman, a Pakistani whisky drinking bhabhi who works as an Indian spy, took my breath away in a five minute role.

Director Aditya Dhar, who has also written the movie, makes the drama so riveting in the second half that I felt it is Bollywood's Argo moment.

Vicky Kaushal and his co-actors make for great viewing, but one wonders why actors playing Home Minister Rajnath Singh and then defence minister Manohar Parrikar spoil the thrills by propagating the BJP line.

Uri would have been a much better film had BJP leaders not taken centrestage peddling their agenda.