JAWAN FILM with it’s dark reality behind it
We got the Bang with this year’s movies. Starting with Pathaan to roaring Jawan It’s been a year for Shah Rukh Khan and Bollywood. But Jawan has been wildly running at the box office with its massy avatar of none other than Shah Rukh Khan. Jawan is a film that has everything for an audience who comes to see a good and entertaining movie. From Music to Background scores Anirudh did a fabulous job, along with Atlee’s direction was top notch to present this kind of action masala entertainer in front of cinema lovers. It’s getting appreciation for the actors who did their job tremendously well. From bigger stars like Nayanthara, Vijay Sethupathi, and Deepika Padukone.
Cinema halls were packed with audiences who expressed their emotions through whistles and shouting. However, did we know that some of the important scenes in Jawan Film such as farmer suicides, hospital child deaths, and the Bofors scandal were inspired by true events? Let’s explore and discover how this is the case.
2017 Gorakhpur hospital deaths
In 2017, a significant number of children lost their lives at the BRD Medical College hospital in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. By September 2nd, 2017, the hospital had reported 1,317 child deaths. The situation gained national attention in August of that year, when the hospital’s oxygen supply was disrupted, leading to the death of 63 children.
On August 29th, 2017, 175 children died from acute encephalitis syndrome (AES), with 77 of those deaths occurring in August alone. It was discovered that government negligence, resulting from a shortage of oxygen supply, played a major role in these avoidable deaths. The supplier had cut off the oxygen supply due to a long non-payment.
Dr Kafeel Khan wrote a letter while in prison where he stated that he received a WhatsApp message on August 10th notifying him of the oxygen supply being cut off. He promptly contacted the head of the department, the principal and acting principal of B.R.D., the district magistrate of Gorakhpur, the chief medical superintendent of Gorakhpur and B.R.D. Medical College, and his colleagues to inform them of the situation.
The individual contacted local oxygen supplier agencies and urgently requested for them to provide oxygen cylinders at BRD. In addition, they reached out to nearby hospitals for assistance. They explained that they even went out to purchase oxygen cylinders themselves, managing to collect 250 cylinders by paying for them out of their own pocket. They promised the suppliers that they would arrange for the remaining payment shortly. Some of the cylinders were transported in their car, while the rest were delivered with the help of the DIG of Police, who arranged for a truck and manpower from the Armed Border Force. However, it was later reported that an FIR was filed.
Nine individuals, including Dr. Khan and the former principal of the medical college, were later charged with an FIR. In September 2017, Dr Khan was arrested by the UP Police and sent to jail. After eight months of imprisonment, the Allahabad High Court granted Dr Kafeel Khan bail in April 2018, citing a lack of direct evidence of negligence on his part.
Dr Khan told NDTV. “Even today, if I have to save one kid, I’ll do it again. While the government has not been able to pin down the actual culprit yet, I have been made the scapegoat. The report was not sent to me in all these months. Now, the Medical Education Department has asked me to come forth to present my case on the private practice issue, which is not even related to the tragedy,” Dr Khan said in a statement released earlier.
“The government should tender an apology, provide victims with compensation and get the incident probed by the CBI,” he added. The findings of the report say that Dr Khan was not guilty of medical negligence, he was not guilty of being involved in the tendering process of supplying oxygen to the hospital or involved in any associated corruption.
The report also says that Dr Khan had informed his seniors about the oxygen shortage, and had provided the probe officer with call details. Dr Khan also told the investigating officer, the report notes, that he provided seven oxygen cylinders to the hospital in his capacity on the night of the tragedy.
“I always knew I had not done anything wrong. On that fateful day, I did what I could do best, as a doctor, father and a common Indian. But for my efforts to save the lives of children, I was thrown behind bars, vilified by the media, my family was put through immense harassment and I was suspended from my job,” Dr Kafeel Khan said in a media statement. In the Jawan film, Dr. Eram (Sania Malhotra) is similarly made a scapegoat and imprisoned for the children’s deaths, while the government bureaucrats escape unscathed.
1986 Bofors scandal in India
Some people have pointed out that the movie also draws parallels to the real-life Bofors scandal in a flashback sequence set in the 1980s. Vikram Rathore (Azad’s father) serves as a commando in the Indian army and is assigned to lead a mission to eliminate a terrorist group.
During this mission, Vikram discovers that the weapons provided to the soldiers are malfunctioning, resulting in the deaths of previous soldiers sent to eliminate the terrorist group. Vikram holds the weapon supplier, Kaalie (Vijay Sethupathi), responsible for the malfunctioning weaponry and urges the government to terminate its contract with him.
This incident in Jawan has some similarities to events in 1986, coinciding with the Bofors scandal in India. In 1986, India signed a 1,437 crore deal with Swedish arms manufacturer AB Bofors for the supply of 400 155mm Howitzer guns for the army. A year later, in 1987, a Swedish radio channel alleged that the company had bribed several top Indian politicians and defence personnel to secure the contract. The scandal had a significant impact on the Rajiv Gandhi government, tarnishing his image considerably.
Although not obviously similar, it’s possible that the plot of Jawan is somewhat inspired by a real-life incident. The film doesn’t depict government bureaucrats as directly responsible for the faulty weapons but implies that the ministers have connections with Kaalie Gaikwad (Vijay Sethupathi).
To avoid spoiling the movie, we recommend watching it yourself and enjoying it with your friends and family.
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