- Salman Khan called the anti-China narrative about Maatrubhumi "rubbish" at the trailer launch
- The film portrays soldiers of two countries caught in a challenging situation without negative forces
- Maatrubhumi was initially titled Battle Of Galwan and delayed due to Ministry of Defence concerns
At the Maatrubhumi trailer launch, Salman Khan slammed the 'Anti-China' narrative about the film as "nonsense". At the event, Salman Khan described the plot of the film as 'a story of soldiers of two countries.'
"The story is about soldiers, soldiers of two countries. There's no negative force in the story. Actually, the situation is negative. But it's like nation comes first for the soldiers. They are caught in a situation and both the sides are trying to solve this," Salman said at the event.
He cheekily added, "Our director used to have an old version."
From the teaser release of Maatrubhumi, there were claims that the film is anti-China. Dismissing all the claims, Salman said, "There are narratives that this film is anti-China. The government has pressurised us to rewrite the script. All these claims are 'bakwas'."
Salman Khan has also clarified that the film is not a biopic.
"This is not a biopic. This is inspired... I just wanted a film that has man-on-man scuffle. Because there are Chinese and us (Indians) in the story, so it appeared as if this will strain our relationship. But I don't believe that the Chinese will say, 'Salman Khan has made a film, let's attack India'."
Maatrubhumi was initially announced with the title Battle Of Galwan. The name was changed earlier this year.
Based on the 2020 conflict between India and China, the Ministry of Defence had reportedly raised reservations about the film's content and the mention of China, in light of the improved relationship between New Delhi and Beijing. This led to the film's delay.
In September, the film was cleared and granted a censor certificate.
"The officials of the I&B Ministry are now satisfied with the new version of Maatrubhumi submitted by the makers. Hence, they gave an NOC to the war saga last week. This means that the film can now be made available for public consumption," a source said.
The film was granted a censor certificate without any cut.
Maatrubhumi is directed by Apoorva Lakhia. The film also features Chitrangada Singh.
Apart from Maatrubhumi, Salman Khan is set to appear in Vamshi Paidipally's tentatively titled SVC63. The film also stars Nayanthara.
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