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Army objects to portrayal of NDA in Bachchan film

Amitabh Bachchan, who is desperately seeking a hit to get back into the reckoning in the film world, has run foul of the Indian army for an incorrect portrayal of the defence forces in his latest venture, Major Saab.

At a preview held late last week, officials from the defence ministry and senior officers of the three wings of the defence forces objected to the wrongful and distorted portrayal of discipline in the armed forces, particularly in the National Defence Academy at Khadakvasla.

The star rushed to the capital and reportedly met army chief General Ved Prakash Malik in an attempt to get an early commercial release of the film, which has been produced by the Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited.

However, General Malik did not react positively. Defence ministry sources said the film could be released only after major changes, which may require a lot of fresh shooting and removal of all references to the NDA.

In the film, Bachchan is shown as a major in the army, and although he ages by 18 to 20 years in the film, his rank remains the same. It is feared that such a portrayal can demoralise aspirants wanting to join the army.

Life in the NDA has also been distorted, according to some of the officers who saw the preview of the film directed by Virinder Raj -- Tinnu -- Anand. They said the film had trivialised entry to the academy, usually a very difficult process. Cadets in the NDA are, of compulsion, always well-dressed and shaved, unlike Ajay Devgun who sports a stubble in the film and other who sport long hair. They are also given individual cabins, though the film shows eight of them sharing a single dormitory.

The cadets are also shown leaving the academy at will for romantic encounters, unmindful of the strict discipline. The cadets also freely use weapons belonging to the academy to fight the local don. The cadets even use rocket launchers, equipment they don't learn to use at the NDA. Even the training process is not shown correctly, the officers claimed.

At one stage in the film, the squadron leader takes four or five cadets with him to kidnap a girl, and there is also a marriage conducted at the NDA. The NDA commandant in the films is a brigadier, whereas the NDA is actually headed only by a lieutenant-general.

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