When Aditya Dhar addressed claims of his film being a 'political propaganda', said ‘It is a very balanced perspective’

Aditya Dhar on his film being a propoganda

• Aditya Dhar denies Uri was released for political reasons
• He says Uri presents a balanced, chronological account of events
• Dhar's next film Dhurandhar releases on 19 March 2026

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Filmmaker Aditya Dhar has once again spoken about the long-standing debate surrounding his 2019 blockbuster Uri: The Surgical Strike, especially the claims that the film served as political propaganda.

In a throwback video that is now circulating online, Aditya Dhar addressed the criticism while speaking with film critic Rajeev Masand and shared his perspective on how the film was conceived and released.

During the conversation, Aditya Dhar was asked about the allegations that the film glorified the ruling government and was strategically released close to election season.

Responding to the claim, Aditya Dhar firmly denied that politics had any role in determining the release date. According to him, such decisions are made purely from a business and industry perspective.

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“See two things, one is that the date is decided by the producer, keeping the business, the economics of films in mind, Its not decided according to what like the elections are happening or what is happening or what party is fighting for it or no,” Aditya Dhar said.

Aditya Dhar further explained that his intention while making Uri: The Surgical Strike was simply to narrate the events as they happened. The filmmaker emphasised that the film was structured as a chronological account of the events that unfolded during the 10 to 11 days leading up to the Indian Army’s surgical strikes.

“Secondly, when you see the film and most of these people who were calling it propaganda, when they saw the film, they actually realised that its not, its a very balanced perspective, because the whole point is I am chronogically telling you what happened in those 10-11 days and if the decision was taken by the current government, how can I negate that, how can I bypass that? I have to show it, it was taken, the decision, was taken by the current government. So keeping that in mind, I had to keep a very balanced perspective, Now if somebody feels its a propaganda, then might be that in, their head they have already decided.”

Rajeev Masand also pointed out during the discussion that the film seemed to promote the idea of a “New India” that responds swiftly and aggressively to threats. Addressing this point, Aditya Dhar said that the concept of Naya Bharat came from his own personal experiences growing up in Kashmir.

“See this Nayabharat thing came from a point that me being a Kashmiri, I have heard about terrorism ever since I was a small baby and I was someone who wanted to get into army but couldn't and keeping both the perspectives in mind, I realised this is the first time we actually rook the fight into that enemy and it has never.”

Also Read: Aditya Dhar expresses gratitude to his fans in a heartfelt birthday note, mentioning 'peak detailing' memes

Uri: The Surgical Strike, starring Vicky Kaushal, was widely appreciated for its gripping narrative and patriotic tone when it released. The film went on to become one of the most successful war dramas in Hindi cinema and earned multiple National Film Awards.

Following the massive success of his previous work, Aditya Dhar is now preparing for his next big release Dhurandhar. The film, which has already generated significant buzz, is scheduled to arrive in theatres on 19 March 2026.