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Bhuj: The Pride of India has a compelling premise: during the 1971 India–Pakistan War, women from Madhapar helped rebuild the Bhuj airstrip. But the film’s noisy patriotic spectacle and focus on its male stars leave the women’s contribution with less narrative weight than the story promises. It works better as a broad, star-led war drama than as a considered account of that collective effort.
What is Bhuj: The Pride of India about?
Directed by Abhishek Dudhaiya, the 2021 war drama premiered on Disney+ Hotstar in August of that year. Ajay Devgn plays Indian Air Force Squadron Leader Vijay Karnik; the cast also includes Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha, Sharad Kelkar, Ammy Virk and Nora Fatehi. Its central story follows Karnik and women from Madhapar as they work to restore the Bhuj airbase runway during the 1971 war. The Indian Express’ film coverage describes that premise.
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Does the film give the Madhapar women enough agency?
Not consistently. The women’s role is the most distinctive part of the premise, yet reviewers argued that the film’s attention shifts toward its male leads and patriotic declarations. Shubhra Gupta’s one-star Indian Express review said the hero-led approach nearly hides the 300 women at the heart of the story. Saibal Chatterjee’s 1.5-star NDTV review likewise criticized the concentration on the two top male stars.
That imbalance matters because the women’s participation is not incidental background: it is what distinguishes this story from a more conventional account of military action. The film invokes collective courage, but its star-centred framing can make that collective effort feel secondary.
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How do the action, writing and emotion work?
The film aims for scale and urgency, but the reviews were largely unconvinced by the execution. Shilajit Mitra’s 1.5/5 Cinema Express review faulted both emotional effect and technical craft, while Chatterjee criticized the writing and battle spectacle. Mitra summarized his verdict: “Bhuj, which takes its cue from a real event in 1971, fails on both counts.”
The result is a war film whose declarations and set pieces can feel louder than its human drama. The issue is not simply that it chooses spectacle; it is that spectacle does not reliably deepen the characters or make the women’s part of the story more affecting.
Rank #2
Is Bhuj: The Pride of India based on a true story?
It draws on a reported wartime episode, but it is a dramatization, not a scene-by-scene historical record. Contemporary reviews described 300 women from Madhapar helping restore the runway within 72 hours: Cinema Express and The Times of India report those figures. They are figures from contemporary coverage, not independently established here through primary military records.
There is also a personal connection behind the film: The Indian Express reported that Dudhaiya said his grandmother, Laxmi Parmar, was among the women who helped make the runway and that he had heard stories about the episode from her. NDTV called the film a “fictionalised account,” and Cinema Express noted that the director embellished the underlying story. That context helps explain the source of the story without proving the accuracy of every scene or character detail.
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What did critics think?
The critical response was negative overall, but not unanimous. The reviews range from one star to three, with the more favourable rating still describing a hyper-nationalistic treatment.
| Review | Rating | Emphasis |
|---|---|---|
| Shubhra Gupta, The Indian Express (2021) | 1 star | Hero-led approach overshadows the women central to the premise. |
| Shilajit Mitra, Cinema Express (2021) | 1.5/5 | Emotional and technical execution; liberties taken with the story. |
| Saibal Chatterjee, NDTV (2021) | 1.5 stars | Writing, battle spectacle and focus on the leading male stars. |
| Renuka Vyavahare, The Times of India (2021) | 3 stars | Described the film’s treatment as hyper-nationalistic. |
Who is the film for?
Viewers looking for a polished, restrained war drama or a detailed account centred on the Madhapar women may find the film frustrating. Those more receptive to broad patriotic spectacle and a star-led cast may find its scale and premise more appealing, while still encountering a film whose critical reception turned largely on how unevenly it balances those elements.
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