MUMBAI: Rang De Basanti, one of the big films of 2006, is set to trigger off a political controversy. The film, apart from dwelling on campus life, also touches upon the controversial issue of MiG aircraft.
One of the key characters in the film is inspired by Kavita Gadgil, mother of the late flight lieutenant Abhijeet Gadgil, who was killed in a MiG-21 crash.
Veteran actor Waheeda Rahman enacts the role of a mother of an airforce pilot who takes on the IAF and blames the political establishment for causing his death.
Sources said the character is crucial to the film narrative. The armed forces have cleared the film which talks about corruption involved in the buying of sub-standard MiG-21s from Russia.
Incidentally, Kavita Gadgil too had made a similar point about faulty aircraft being responsible for the deaths of several IAF pilots.
MiGs have been popularly referred to 'Flying Coffins' due to the high rate of accidents. But accidents involving IAF aircraft have reduced by 50 per cent over the last one year. And the establishment chooses to blame casualties on factors such as pilot error and disorientation.
The lady in question, Kavita Gadgil, was unaware that Rang de Basanti talks about MiG crashes. Speaking to TOI, she said, "they should've consulted me at least before making a film that involves MiG-21s.
Nobody approached me to discuss the issue before making the film. I don't even know who the producer of the film is, but if the film involves MiGs and the death of my son then it was important for them to consult me."
Rang De Basanti is primarily a campus film that revolves around a bunch of aimless university grads led by Aamir Khan who hang around on their campus after passing out.
Southern star Madhavan plays an IAF pilot, introducing the MiG-21 issue to the film. Kamlesh Pandey, one of the writers of the film said Waheeda Reh-man's character was not inspired by only Gadgil.
There were so many other mothers whose sons have sacrificed their lives in MiG crashes," he said.
Gadgil, who had objected to the airforce calling her son a weak pilot, said the same airforce later apologised to her.
"All I wanted was justice for my son. Let me tell you the airforce said 'sorry to me' for calling my son a weak pilot and that line is expunged from his certificate."
