Uri: An engaging war film, if you ignore its political and social contexts

Between The Accidental Prime Minister and Uri, we now have lookalikes of the entire political class who might just come in handy during the upcoming general election

War films make me uneasy. It’s probably my “libtard” upbringing. But watching Uri: The Surgical Strike made me realise I was particularly uncomfortable with Indo-Pak war films — the hyper-masculine construct of the “dushman” (enemy), a hyper-nationalistic version of patriotism and a hyper-emotive background score where the drum beats are supposed to get you to rise from your seat and thump your chest. This Vicky Kaushal-starrer is no different. 

But only if you pay attention to the social, political and historical contexts of the film. For instance, if you ignore the fact that actor Paresh Rawal plays the role of