The script of Onir’s film, inspired by the real-life story of a gay Major in the Indian Army, was not granted an NOC by the defence ministry because it showed the Army deployed in Kashmir in “poor light” and raised “security issues”, the ministry said yesterday (February 11). The script showed a romantic relationship between a soldier serving in Kashmir and a local boy, junior defence minister Ajay Bhatt said in a written reply to BJP member Varun Gandhi’s question in the Lok Sabha.
Bhatt said that the approval process was not arbitrary or discriminatory, and it did not violate Article 14 of the Constitution. The reason why an NOC for films based on defence themes is needed by producers is to ensure that the armed forces are not depicted in a manner which can bring disrepute to them, the government or the country.