Salman Khan’s much-delayed movie Maatrubhumi release date locked

Mumbai: Superstar Salman Khan on Friday announced that his much-delayed war drama movie “Maatrubhumi: May War Rest in Peace” will finally make its debut in theatres across the country on December 4.

Salman, who headlines the Apoorva Lakhia-directed movie, based on the 2020 Galwan Valley clash between Indian and Chinese troops, shared the release date at the film’s promotional event here.

Asked about the delay in the film’s release, Salman said the team wanted to ensure that the visual effects were up to the mark.

“Today, there are a lot of VFX experts out there who examine each and every shot of a film. So, with this film, we don’t want to give anyone an opportunity to zoom in on a scene and criticise its VFX. We want this film to visually blow everyone’s mind. It is a beautifully shot film,” the superstar told reporters.

“We thought we would be able to complete the film in 45-50 days, but madam (co-star Chitrangda Singh) got injured, and it took her time to recover. We were earlier supposed to release the film in either January or June, but it was then pushed to August. Now, we will release it on December 4,” he added.

The film, which was earlier titled “Battle of Galwan” before being rechristened “Maatrubhumi: May War Rest in Peace”, is inspired by the military standoff in eastern Ladakh in May 2020.

Clashes at the Galwan Valley in June that year resulted in a severe strain in ties between India and China. Twenty Indian Army personnel laid down their lives in the Galwan Valley clashes.

Salman essays the role of Bikkumalla Santosh Babu, who laid down his life along with 19 other soldiers of the 16 Bihar Regiment during the clash.

The superstar had unveiled the first teaser of the movie on his 60th birthday in December last year. The teaser was criticised by China’s Global Times that claimed the movie is a cinematic exaggeration and blamed it for distorting facts.

An Indian government source at the time had said, “India has a tradition of cinematic expression. A movie titled ‘Haqeeqat’ was made in 1964 and the theme was the India-China war of 1962. Another film ‘120 Bahadur’ was made recently on the legendary battle of Rezang La. Cinemas are an artistic expression and India does not restrict it.”

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