You Shouldn't watch good films @TheEmissaryCo (YouTube Reaction)

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]The Emissary, "How Bollywood Lost 1.4 Billion People".

[00:00:07]And I have no clue what the heck that means, but I think it's talking about the propaganda which everyone is claiming is Pathaan.

[00:00:16]Which is uh historical fiction with a bias.

[00:00:21]Not propaga- propaganda, it's historical fiction with a bias. Of course, of course. Everything has a bias.

[00:00:27]Everything has a bias.

[00:00:30]People keep telling me this movie is propaganda.

[00:00:35]But it is smashing records at the box office with Pathaan 2 becoming the highest grossing Hindi film ever in India. And that made me think, "Propaganda is usually forced onto people, but Pathaan is clearly connecting with [music] Indians organically."

[00:00:48]Hey, not not just not just Indians. Not just India- Indians. I love myself a a spy thriller.

[00:00:55]I love myself a a patriotic film. And it's more patriotic. That's how it's biased.

[00:01:00]It's showing like the the ins and outs of what India is capable in its espionage network.

[00:01:07]So it it's not exactly propaganda. It's not being pushed on you. You're not being forced to believe something.

[00:01:13]You're not being indoctrinated into something since you're young. So like the "What is sexuality?" that's being taught in like elementary schools in like grade schoolers. Like 8-year-olds or however whenever you start school. Being taught, "Oh, you can be whatever you want to be." That's propaganda.

[00:01:35]That's propaganda. You're You're You're saying something that has no uh place in reality. You're trying to push a narrative and you're targeting the kids.

[00:01:44]You're targeting the kids. That's propaganda.

[00:01:48]This is a historical fiction with a bias on patriotism.

[00:01:53]So I decided to check out the big three claims of propaganda and put them to the test. To finally decode if Dur Andar is government sponsored disinformation or a genuine cultural phenomenon. Here's what I found.

[00:02:17]So, let's get the obvious out of the way. Dur Andar is not a documentary.

[00:02:20][music] It is a fictional film. The thing is it is based off of real life events. Some characters are one-to-one based off of real life. Again, historical fiction. I I don't I don't know how many times I have to say it before people start adding it in their reviews and in their commentary on the film because as soon as people start utilizing it in India, it'll completely debunk those morons who are calling it propaganda.

[00:02:44]Those morons who are calling it propaganda and I understand some people might not be happy cuz it puts a positive spin on a few things. But that's fine. You can be unhappy about it. But the thing is you can't go outright and call it propaganda. You you just can't. The the propaganda is a word that should be saved for something that absolutely is propaganda. It's going to lose all meaning.

[00:03:07]That's the thing. Like look at the West.

[00:03:08]Racism means nothing. Um being sexist means nothing. Being a Nazi means nothing. Why? Because it's being utilized so much that it it's lost all meaning. It's lost It has absolutely no meaning.

[00:03:23]People like Ramond the Gate or SP Chaudhary Aslam.

[00:03:26]Others are amalgamations of [music] real life figures like Major Iqbal or even the main character Just Garrett/Hamza.

[00:03:32]The plot is fictional, but many of the events, including all the terror attacks, I want to emphasize this. Every terror attack is real. In the first Dur Andar in particular, they even have recordings of the attacks and news commentary from that era. Yep, they put it on the news feed.

[00:03:46]They used the real footage on the news feed.

[00:03:49]I I think that was one of the most powerful things. And I got to say, like I said, in the first film, it was the newsfeed that really brought you in and you realize how dark it is.

[00:03:58]And then in the second film, the newsfeed, what is it?

[00:04:02]It's showing India getting ahead of the terror organizations. You have them doing the demonetization. You have them doing all this stuff and it completely changes the narrative. Completely changes the narrative and I got to say, I liked it cuz in one film, every time the news pops up, it's something dark.

[00:04:21]In the second film, every time the news pops up, it kind of gets you like, yes.

[00:04:26]Yes, something good's about to happen.

[00:04:27]You're about to see those people who are absolutely hateful people get angry.

[00:04:33]Get upset.

[00:04:35]Yeah, I I enjoyed that. I enjoyed that because in both films, the what the news means is something different.

[00:04:40]>> Other parts like the LeJ gang war and assassinations of figures are pretty much on point. Just the path to get there has some masala. In the other two, there's a montage of these people called the unknown men who basically liquidate various terrorists across Pakistan. One big critique I have of this movie is that it wasn't expanded upon. It was indeed a very complex operation that took years to create that network of operatives and informants. Well, the thing is is like it makes it seem like it happens way too quickly when it happened over a period of time. Like I think it was the second film where you realize how much time is passing because you see his pregnant wife uh spoilers, it's already out so you should have seen it. You see his pregnant wife, you see her have a kid and then by the time you're all caught up after the montage, he's already like 9 years old.

[00:05:26]Af- after that montage. So you realize a massive amount of time has passed. It's some petty criminals who carried out the assassinations. I mention this because in the film, it looks like a Tarantino-esque mass killing sequence that just spontaneously happened. But again, it was real. All those terrorists killed were real people. So the film is a blending of reality and fiction. Think like a Zero Dark Thirty or Schindler's List or even my favorite Inglourious Basterds. They all blend >> Inglourious Basterds. I mean, Inglourious Basterds is a little more extreme cuz I I historical fiction it is, but it's more fantasy in the genre of fantasy. Not more fiction, more more What is it? What is it where the There's a genre where they alternate alternate reality alternate history. There's there's a term for it.

[00:06:14]>> real life [music] incidents with some storytelling sizzle. This genre is called historical fiction. And I think that's where people get into this whole propaganda aspect of it. Many have criticized this movie for blending these real incidents with the embellishment of fiction. If Miss Scribbler, if you heard my phone go off, it was your app Rapido, okay? It was your app Rapido that popped up on my feed.

[00:06:36]I I'm not getting a message from anyone.

[00:06:39]It was your app.

[00:06:40]>> [laughter] >> Oh, but I'm glad I'm glad people are actually utilizing historical fiction cuz there's nothing wrong with historical fiction. There's nothing wrong with it.

[00:06:51]We have to step back here and think.

[00:06:53]Like this is cinema. This is art.

[00:06:57]I'm not expecting a movie on Pearl Harbor or the Mongol conquest [music] or Rwandan Civil War to be one-to-one accurate in terms of events.

[00:07:04]Like Pearl Harbor is a lot of it is fiction.

[00:07:08]The the Matt Damon Ben Affleck one.

[00:07:12]That's like those characters were fiction.

[00:07:15]They wanted to characters to back the entire story.

[00:07:20]Yeah, if you need me to show the the the that Let me see. Let me see. I'll show I'll show I'll show.

[00:07:25]It was the Rapido. Rapido.

[00:07:32]It's the orange icon. It's the orange icon. It's a movie. So I think that critique is mostly sour grapes. The Wonder is not positioning itself as a documentary. What it is is using painstaking research on the events that transpired and weaving that into a coherent cinematic story for your viewing minds entertainment.

[00:07:49]>> Durandhar is definitely fiction, but it is built on a foundation of facts that most Indians lived through and the world ignored. So, is that really worthy of being called propaganda? I think that's cinema doing what cinema is supposed to do. And nowhere is this more the case than the 26/11 sequence in Durandhar 1.

[00:08:05]26/11 was a real terror attack that happened on November 26th, 2008 in Mumbai.

[00:08:10]Pakistani terrorists came on boat from Karachi to Mumbai. They acquired IDs with a new names, donned the sacred [music] red strings on their wrists, and they did this to not only disguise themselves, but also to try to pin the blame on [music] Hindu extremism. The terrorists then proceeded to attack various locations in Mumbai with AK-47s, bombs, and grenades. 174 people were killed and over 300 were wounded.

[00:08:30]Luckily, an officer named Tukaram Omble captured the terrorist named Ajmal Kasab, preventing this conspiracy of Hindu [music] terror. More on this angle later as it's super Omble charged Kasab with nothing more than a bamboo [music] stick. He was shot 40 times on the way, but even after all this, he overpowered Kasab, leading to his capture. Now, this is important because it segues into our next charge, Durandhar's portrayal of Indian domestic politics. Because while honest critics will acknowledge its basis in reality, they usually get wound up on the political aspect of Durandhar.

[00:09:01]And make no mistake, Durandhar is a political film. It takes sides very clearly. So, this is something we need to confront head-on in our next section.

[00:09:11]Yeah, it's a bias. Has a bias.

[00:09:12]Everything has a bias. Durandhar's director Aditya Dhar makes no qualms about displaying his antipathy towards the Congress party and admiration for the BJP. So, it's this idea we have to dissect. Why exactly does Dhar hate Congress so much? And is there a basis for all the events he describes? For that, we have to rewind to 1990. [music] Dhar's background is that of the Kashmiri Pandits. The Gee, I wonder.

[00:09:37]I wonder.

[00:09:39]What could have happened?

[00:09:42]What could have happened?

[00:09:44]Gee, let me let me think.

[00:09:46]Let me think. What what what could have happened back then that could lead someone down uh the rabbit hole of being like, you know what? These this is really a problem.

[00:09:57]This is really a problem. We shouldn't be supporting a nation that wants to kill us.

[00:10:03]Convert, run, or die.

[00:10:06]Nobody wants to to live through something like that or nobody wants to uh be through something like that.

[00:10:12]To this day where they've lost their homeland.

[00:10:16]Oh, sorry sorry. I I I be Oh, I'm getting angry. I'm getting angry.

[00:10:20]>> [laughter] >> My wife's land isn't even her lands.

[00:10:24]These are the Hindu minority of Kashmir who have kept their indigenous traditions and religion alive while most of the valley was converted to Islam.

[00:10:30]While many exoduses of Kashmiri Hindus happened in the past due to persecution, 1990 would prove to be the final one. As a radicalized Kashmiri Muslim population threatened Hindus with three words, Galiv, Galiv, Ya Chaliv.

[00:10:43]Convert, die, or run.

[00:10:50]Yeah.

[00:10:52]Yeah. I mean, See, this is This is why I believe in self-defense.

[00:10:59]This is why I believe in self-defense.

[00:11:00]This is why I'm for firearms. This is why I believe everyone should have a weapon for self-defense. I don't care that America is a safe place. Just in case something happens, I want the ability to ven- defend myself and to eradicate monsters. As many as I can.

[00:11:18]That's just That's just how I feel.

[00:11:19]Because I remember watching Kashmir Files and that was aggravating to watch.

[00:11:24]Because you're literally letting your your you're just letting it all happen.

[00:11:29]You're letting it all happen. I got That's why I hated like when you the more you learn about Gandhi, the more I hate him because it's like no, when you're constantly being killed and eradicated and uh your women getting violated, you can't blame it on the woman for not holding your breath or biting her tongue.

[00:11:46]We we have survival instincts for a reason. You can't say not to fight back when you're watching your own people, your own family get butchered in front of you. It It's It's just insane. It's absolutely insane. No, you pick up a weapon and you torture them.

[00:12:01]You remove their legs, you remove their hands and leave them stumping around.

[00:12:07]If they bleed out, fine. But you do that, leave them stumping around. It'll be a message for the next person. Then if they continue to do it, you do it to the next person and then the next person and then the next person and then eventually This just how I am. This is just how I am. I personally believe in defense and teaching lessons because when people don't get taught a lesson, they will continue going at you until they learn the lesson. And if they're not taught a lesson, they just continue being a problem.

[00:12:32]They continue being a problem. It's like a child. It's like a child. You can tell them no several times, but it's not until they actually feel the consequences of burning their hand on a stove, if they're a [ __ ] child, that they'll learn.

[00:12:45]That they will learn.

[00:12:46]And if they're completely [ __ ] even that won't stop them from touching the stove over and over and over again.

[00:12:52]That eventually Darwinism takes effect and survival of the fittest. Hogan echo throughout the valley as Alaska Kashmiri Hindus left their homeland forever. Now, Dara actually [music] grew up in Delhi, significantly south of the valley, but he saw his family and people streaming as refugees with tales of the horror and betrayal. For anyone, this would leave a significant imprint. Now, the thing is most people think the Congress party presided over this entire event, but that isn't totally true. The Congress party was actually in the opposition at this time. So, why would Oh, so I guess everyone in Pakistan was watching it. I guess they wanted to know what all the hype was about. What all the hype was about.

[00:13:27]I did then or dislike the INC rather than the BJP. Well, the INC was in power in the lead-up to these events. They were the ones pampering the separatists and ignoring the warning signs of extremism. When they lost the elections leading up to the exodus, the victorious coalition in 1990 was actually composed of left-wing, centrist, and right-wing parties, including the BJP. It was a chaotic and confused alliance, one where left-wing ideas and softness towards the separatists actually won out over the BJP's more robust stance. After the Kashmiri Hindu exodus and other communal conflagration, >> It's always the left-wing.

[00:13:59]It's always the left-wing, that all inclusive, that all accepting, no you can't do it, it's racist, it's uh it's it's uh uh Islamophobic, you have to let them do whatever they want. If they want your child, just give them your child.

[00:14:12]Because it's what they want. It's the politically correct thing to do is to offer your daughter to them.

[00:14:18]happening at that time, the BJP actually withdrew from the alliance out of protest, thereby collapsing the coalition. Fast forward almost 30 years later, Kashmir was still boiling. You see, Kashmir had something called special status through a law called Article 370, which the Congress Party implemented.

[00:14:34]This special status gave them a lot more autonomy over their own affairs, [music] but also baked in state discrimination towards not just other Indians or Hindus, but also groups like women, LGBT people, and lower castes.

[00:14:45]This autonomy was also a continuous cause of terror attacks. That is until 2019 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP revoked Article 370, integrating Kashmir into India's mainstream.

[00:14:56]After which the Quite funny considering there there is no left-wing in Islamic countries. Yeah, because it can't exist.

[00:15:02]However, the left left-wing is the weakest [music] because with that you can easily target people's emotion emotions when all they utilize is emotions and not logics and facts. When people utilize logics and facts, it's like, "No, we shouldn't capitulate to you because you're not a part of this society. You will capitulate to the society rather than the society capitulating to you.

[00:15:26]You're a minority at that problem. That That's the problem. It's like they get the people to the emotional people to capitulate. And force the everyone else to capitulate along with them.

[00:15:38]Terror attacks have gone down.

[00:15:40]Investment has gone up. Though many Kashmiri Pandits are still wary of returning to the valley. Nevertheless, Modi and the BJP acquired a lot of goodwill from the community in India at large for this move. For Dar and other Kashmiri Pandits, the Congress party was seen as mollycoddling Kashmiri extremists and showing no interest in seeing Kashmiri Hindus return to the valley. During their time in power, whether before or after the exodus, the situation in Kashmir rapidly devolved into more and more [music] violence. Not just that, but this idea of secularism being corrupted into religious appeasement of minorities and unfair practices [music] towards Hinduism is a big charge against the Congress party.

[00:16:14]And that charge holds weight when you see that the government does have different laws for Hindus versus other religious groups who have more autonomy in worship or [music] even their own civic legal codes.

[00:16:23]So, a Hindu has different laws than Muslims who use Sharia in certain matters. That doesn't sound secular to me. Nevertheless, this all came to four recently [music] on Twitter when people began to dig up old tweets and policies and speeches from the Congress party and other left-wing parties during the time of when the run there takes place to test whether the film was propaganda or reality.

[00:16:44]And look, I'm not an Indian citizen nor did I grow up or was born in India. But as a third-party observer, there is some blood-boiling stuff. For example, after the gruesome 26/11 attacks, the INC claimed that they could not do anything.

[00:16:55][music] >> Yeah, I mean that that's the same thing happened in the US. I hated seeing open borders. I hated seeing people welcomed into the nation that honestly shouldn't be here.

[00:17:07]It is incredibly insane that those of us who have lived here, were born here, have a right to be here, are second-class citizens to people who cross illegally and do not respect the nation.

[00:17:22]It It just doesn't make sense to me.

[00:17:25]It makes absolutely no sense.

[00:17:28]against Pakistan.

[00:17:30]No retaliation, no justice, nada. But that's not the worst part. Remember how those Pakistani terrorists wore like red strings on the wrist to pin the attack on Hindus? Well, Congress party affiliates wrote a literal book trying to do the exact same thing, framing 26/11 as a Hindu terrorist conspiracy.

[00:17:47]That's the exact plan that Pakistan was trying to carry out.

[00:17:50]>> [music] >> Now, just imagine that. The ruling party of India at the time had the same agenda as an enemy nation that just [music] attacked it. Rahul Gandhi, who is the current leader of the INC, less than a year after the terror attack, claimed that Hindu terrorism was a worse threat to India than terrorism from Pakistan.

[00:18:05]There's a lot more crazy real-life events alluded in the film that actually happened. So again, from a third-party perspective, I totally get why Dorinda hit so hard for Indians. This type of stuff must have been maddening to go through when you are the constant victim of terror attacks. Yet you are the ones getting blamed >> [music] >> by the people who should be protecting you in the first place. It's encapsulated in this graph where we see how clearly terrorism correlates to INC rule and falls when the BJP takes over.

[00:18:29]And again, this is data. This is math.

[00:18:32]See, this is the thing. So, he's not from India. He's born outside.

[00:18:37]He's probably a third-generation something. Like I'm not from India. I was from outside. It speaks volumes that those of us on the outside have a better analytical sense than some people who are actually pushing propaganda. Some people who are calling Dorinda propaganda. Why? Because those of us on the outside can objectively look at a situation and judge it for what it is.

[00:19:03]We can judge it for what it is instead of being in the in the boiling pot where it can get blown out of proportion and you have to pick sides. So it speaks volumes that he literally is speaking the exact same way I would on the topic.

[00:19:17]Why? Because he's not invested. Those of us that invested can see more details, sadly, than those who are there.

[00:19:25]Cuz I'm on the outside.

[00:19:27]I'm an objective uh I'm just a observer.

[00:19:31]I think my my my two cents would carry more weight than someone who's literally voting.

[00:19:38]I'm not voting.

[00:19:39]This guy isn't voting. We we we we don't have a say in the nation. However, if uh from what I've seen, from what I've heard, from what I've learned, it seems like one person wants to put India first. The other one just wants to win elections.

[00:19:56]Just wants to win elections. And it's funny, as long as like the Gandhi party was in power, for how long it was in power, how much progress did India receive?

[00:20:07]But, when you had the conservative party or the right-wing party take power, how much improvement happened in India? How much infrastructure changed?

[00:20:17]How much uh ability uh like now like there's a better power. There's uh not completely not completely cuz there's still like blackouts here and there, but it's not like hours on end. And now everyone has like internet access across all of India, which is like the best in the world. The best in the world, which didn't happen uh in the previous party.

[00:20:38]Like that's the thing. It's like you see the changes when you actually have someone that puts their nation first.

[00:20:44]You always need someone in power who's going to put the nation first.

[00:20:49]It's hard evidence about what is happening. Not propaganda. I think that's why the wonder has been such a mass phenomenon. It channels the injustice felt by [music] so many Indians over the decades and presents the perspective of a people who have been wronged in a way that's just plain astonishing. I think this is really where the knife gets [music] twisted in the guts of the critics' eyes. It is not just that these facts are presented, they're presented with style. Yeah. The film weaves a [music] cinematic gut-wrenching gore, an immersive soundtrack, an intelligent plot, all together around a reality that many Indians experienced. In the first the under still one of one of the the best one is a Ajit Doval, of course. I I I freaking love that that his character and the fact that that Rasputin song came up after that he was like he was on the phone call. It's like perfect, absolutely perfect. I need to watch it again. I need to watch it again.

[00:21:39]Especially the actual footage used gave people flashbacks of what they felt in an age where India was, to be blunt, getting absolutely and could do [music] nothing about it.

[00:21:48]Like I'm getting worked up just talking about it. But I could not imagine what it is like to actually have lived through all of this. So yes, The Terror is pro-BJP and anti-INC. He makes that clear in the movie. But his bias comes not only from his own lived experience, but the lived experience of a billion plus Indians. And it's those same Indians who voted the BJP in for a reason over and over and over again. So who am I or is anyone to judge at the end of the day? Indians have voted at the booth and at the cinema halls for what they want. And that brings us to the verdict.

[00:22:18]Is The Terror pro-BJP?

[00:22:20]Definitely. But is that bias earned given what Indians have lived through? I think that's [music] a question worth sitting with. Yet there's one last part that we have to examine.

[00:22:28]What about the non-Indians in the movie?

[00:22:30]This series actually mostly takes place in Pakistan, not India. So what about the accusations of this movie not only being anti-Pakistani, but anti-Muslim?

[00:22:41]One of the weirdest parts about The Terror's success is the [music] silence of Bollywood.

[00:22:45]Why would this be? Well, many critics of The Terror point to the idea [music] that the film is an exercise in bigotry.

[00:22:50]So you may think Bollywood stars don't want to indulge [music] in such stuff.

[00:22:53]But let's check out this chart analyzing bias in Bollywood movies. We see clear biases in how certain groups are portrayed. Some good, others bad.

[00:23:01]So what is determining who is the good guy and who is the bad guy here? For that, we have to understand the economics behind Bollywood. Bollywood is centered around Mumbai, India, but it also has a massive audience not just in the Middle East, but also even in Pakistan. Both of these places actually banned the runner, but there's one Bollywood [music] fan in particular within Pakistan that we need to talk about here. He's actually featured in the second Durander. His name is Dawood Ibrahim.

[00:23:24]Dawood Ibrahim was a kingpin of the Mumbai mafia scene in the 1980s and 90s.

[00:23:28]Bollywood had massive links with Dawood through things like money laundering and funding. So, Dawood's opinions and beliefs would mold Bollywood itself.

[00:23:35]Various Bollywood actors and workers are on record for having performed for him, collaborated with him, and even being extorted or killed [music] by him if they didn't comply. Now, Dawood is a Muslim, but I wouldn't say he's like a regular Muslim. Dawood Ibrahim is proven to have terror links. As he rose in the Mumbai underworld, his drugs business got caught up with terror funding as well. Dawood was behind the devastating 1993 [music] Mumbai bomb blast, causing him to flee Pakistan after the authorities pinned the terror attacks on him. Yet, even today, Dawood still has links to the industry through family and old connections in Mumbai. In Durander 2, Dawood was shown as a frail and corrupt fanatic, an image that the usually flashy and outgoing Dawood would not appreciate. Dawood himself hasn't been seen in years though, as rumors of a debilitating poisoning, similar to what happened in Durander 2, swirled a few years back. But, beyond this Bollywood bias or apparent bigotry, is the film Durander actually bigoted?

[00:24:25]Well, popular Bollywood director and Durander super fan Ram Gopal Varma made a good point in a recent interview. He says that just as a prosecutor shows the facts in a manner to prove his case, so is Aditya Dhar showing the facts to present India's case. Why should he be penalized for that as an Indian citizen?

[00:24:41]We have various films from America, the UK, and other countries lauding operations and sacrifices that their military or intelligence personnel have done. Is that necessarily propaganda?

[00:24:51]The films use real-life names and real-life events, and yes, real-life footage and clippings about what happened and how Pakistan has certainly sponsored terror attacks against India, killing thousands of Indians in the process.

[00:25:01]The evidence is [music] overwhelming.

[00:25:03]So, going back to Varma's point, isn't a country allowed to put out its perspective? Forget being pro-BJP, this film is pro-India. It is telling India's point of view.

[00:25:12]Exactly how I said it.

[00:25:14]Exactly how I said it. And that's the thing, it's like it speaks volumes of people who say that it isn't a patriotic film. It speaks volumes that they'll call it propaganda. It says more about their true allegiances than um anybody else.

[00:25:31]Like, I'm not even Indian.

[00:25:33]I'm not even Indian and I love the film.

[00:25:35]I love the fact that it's a patriotic film.

[00:25:37]However, if I showed this to a leftist, they'd absolutely hate this film.

[00:25:43]So, it just goes to show what kind of people would despise this type of film.

[00:25:47]There are people that hate society to begin with. There are people that want society and want uh nations to crumble.

[00:25:55]Because they hate the concept of uh a patriot uh patriotic people.

[00:26:00]They hate it. Why? Because they're so narcissistic, they can't believe sacrificing themselves for a nation.

[00:26:07]They're narcissists. They want the rest of the world to be narcissists. [music] So, they hate and despise anything that isn't their own personal belief. That isn't their own personal perspective, and they would never lay their life down for uh uh a people, for their children, for it speaks volumes. It speaks volumes for those kind of people. Those people that will call this propaganda >> [clears throat] >> will either never have kids or never sacrifice themselves for their children.

[00:26:33]If they're a woman, they'd probably If their kid was being kidnapped, they wouldn't run after and try to kill the person trying to kidnap the kid. No, they'll just watch and be like, "Can you drop me 100 bucks?"

[00:26:42]If it was a parent, they'd just do the exact same thing. If it was a male, they'd do the exact same thing. Because they don't believe in something greater than themselves. They don't have the concept of it. That's why they call it propaganda cuz they can't rationalize that people can actually be patriots.

[00:26:57]People can actually be patriots. People can actually love their nation.

[00:27:00]Like heck, if I see a film that's a patriot like being a like most patriotic films from around the world, I enjoy. I enjoy as long as it's going the route of trying to improve a nation or showing the good positive sides of a nation instead of like well the absolute problems of a nation.

[00:27:19]Cuz you want to push people to believe in the best of a nation. You want the people to see a better future for their nation.

[00:27:28]Because if all they ever see is the bad stuff, all you'll ever get is the bad stuff. When people only ever see like the same thing with the pollution in India, when people only see everyone dropping trash everywhere, no one's going to bother improving the the trash everywhere. Why? Because everyone does it. What does it matter if they do it themselves?

[00:27:45]You have to push the idea of a better future.

[00:27:48]Ooh, unabashedly. Previously, this was looked down upon in Bollywood, which is why they've gotten so unsettled. Other Bollywood movies about Indian military or spy operations would have like crazy things like wacky jetpacks or [music] Indian and Pakistani spies working together to defeat a corrupt raw officer >> What? or the India-Pakistan conflict being solved by spies [music] dancing together. I mean, check out this clip from an Instagram comedian named Swapnil Pandey. That sums it all up. We must infiltrate the very core of terrorism in Pakistan. Hassan Mustan A Pakistan comes to beg.

[00:28:17]Hindustan begging.

[00:28:29]I got to admit, I like the fact that he's wearing red, he's wearing green.

[00:28:49]He's a nice >> [music] >> Oh my gosh.

[00:29:01]>> [laughter] >> Yep. Yep. I mean, and that's the thing.

[00:29:09]We've had movies in the West like this as well, where like a CIA agent and a Chinese agent get together to work on the It's like, "No, that that's obvious They're obviously getting paid by China."

[00:29:23]I mean, still sometimes they're enjoyable films, but they're so un- unrealistic.

[00:29:29]So unrealistic that you just can't even take it seriously. I think that's the magic of the film where you could literally see that happening. You can believe all of it, and that's why a lot of people are upset. That's why a lot of people are calling propaganda because it is just such an impactful film.

[00:29:46]It is just [music] such an impactful film, so well grounded, so well grounded. You don't have the overabundance of stupid technology. You don't have this ridiculous relationship with other people. It it is just I freaking liked it. I freaking love that film.

[00:30:02]Like how can that define the relationship between India and Pakistan when we know Pakistan is sponsoring terror attacks in India >> [music] >> even till this day. Honestly, this accusation of propaganda just seems to be a case of projection for Bollywood spent decades systematically distorting its messaging and pushing its own propaganda.

[00:30:18]So when a film like Durander comes out and shows them the mirror, they can't face themselves or reality. Even this idea of Durander being anti-Muslim looks to be along the same lines where Bollywood is just used [music] to doing its own bias against other religions or communities, so they assume Durander is doing the same. This is despite the fact that there are various good Pakistani and Indian Muslim characters [music] in the film that Indian audiences like can sympathize with, especially in the sequences of Balochi Muslims that the Pakistani state is oppressing again even till this day. [music] In that way, this is a film >> Yeah, where they were targeting and poisoning the well of a school. Why?

[00:30:48]Because you don't want future extremists to have an education.

[00:30:52]Because if they're actually smart enough to think for themselves, they will never follow your orders.

[00:30:59]Always be worried. Always be worried when people try to change the education system. Always be worried.

[00:31:06]one that actually sympathizes with these Muslims. In the other [music] two, the main character Hamza goes into detail about how the state of Pakistan terrorizes not just Balochis or Indians or non-Muslims, but also the average Pakistani. One of the reasons that India has soared past Pakistan economically is that the Pakistani state has invested more in terrorism than its economy. The same terrorists the state has sponsored to attack India. Sometimes while out and attack Pakistan [music] or splinter and have sectarian or regional conflicts.

[00:31:33]This constant wave of terror within Pakistan caused what Hamza is referring [music] to. Where the quality of life of an average Pakistani is plummeting because the Pakistani state [music] focuses on poisoning people's minds rather than progress. I think we are again seeing this pattern where critics [music] are just mad at the under for displaying reality. The scenes that show non-Muslim Pakistanis being burned alive for fake blasphemy charges. The anti-Hindu rhetoric from various characters. [music] The dysfunctions and hypocrisies of Pakistani society and state are all based on very real things.

[00:32:03]We can even measure this in data with how the Hindu population in Pakistan is pulverized [music] today. He needed a goat.

[00:32:09]He needed a goat.

[00:32:12]If you know, you know.

[00:32:13]Or how Pakistan committed one of the worst genocides since the Holocaust on Hindus in East Pakistan. Or the almost bi-weekly reports of underage Hindu girls in Pakistan being kidnapped by older men for a forced marriage or worse. These are all critically underreported issues [music] that deserve to be shown and discussed as the mainstream media for whatever reason chooses to focus on [music] other topics. And pointing this out isn't bigotry. This is shining a light on reality. I think it's that light [music] that is what critics are having the biggest problem with. So, coming back to our initial question on silence, Durander makes Bollywood uncomfortable because celebrating Durander means acknowledging what Bollywood was, who it served, and why it told the biased stories it told. That's uncomfortable for people who built careers inside that system. And like I said earlier, whether you agree or disagree with Durander's bias or politics, the series is an absolute blast [music] to watch. If the movies presented facts but sucked, no one would care as much. But that combination of story, style, and real substance is what's really making the critics go crazy. And again, the bias took a backseat.

[00:33:11]The story was the main focus.

[00:33:14]And a lot of people who want to create actually good narratives should focus that, you know what? Maybe your ideology, maybe your uh biases shouldn't be the sole focus of the story and should just be something on the background that people can notice and be like, "Okay, this is obviously he's this person's in favor of this." But if the story's still good, people normally don't care.

[00:33:36]People normally don't care. And that's the problem with like Hollywood is the bias became the story.

[00:33:42]The story isn't uh the bias isn't a background character. No, it's the story. Which is when it becomes a problem. At this point, I think we've examined the movie enough to give a final verdict as well as my own perspective on the movie.

[00:34:02]Okay, let's be direct. Is Durander propaganda? I think it is, but I think every movie is. Bollywood in the past was captured by a narco-terrorist and apparently still is, who pushed his viewpoints into movies.

[00:34:14]Bollywood movies frequently towed the line of the Congress party in the past in terms of values and messaging. Only recently has some of it started swinging to the center or right rather than decades of leaning a hard left. And this happens across the world. For the last several decades, Hollywood has always leaned towards Democratic and liberal causes, even with the odd pro-US military movie here and there. And that's just how it is.

[00:34:33]>> [music] >> We see the same type of picking and choosing in the UK or China or Turkey or anywhere, honestly. The Rowdy Rathore is singled out because this is probably the first right-wing film or even piece of content And it's the best one that's come out.

[00:34:46]>> making media like this that hits in America. Most so-called right-wing art or media honestly just sucks. It's either too ham-fisted or too overt or [music] just doesn't have aesthetics like that. Yeah, or either acting is just bad.

[00:34:58]>> connects with the audience not just because it highlights their lived experience, but also because it is entertaining. Now, I think Rowdy Rathore is a lot more centrist than right-wing personally, but one thing it does that I think is absolutely awesome is how it integrates like non-Indian or non-right-wing elements into it to make it a cohesive and innovative experience.

[00:35:13]Like Sajid-Wajid, the movie's music director, [music] integrates hip-hop, EDM, Qawwali, Indian classical music, R&B, Punjabi folk, hard rock, and other diverse music [music] sources to create a banger of a soundtrack. You would assume a straight-up right-wing or conservative movie would only integrate like some low-key classical pieces or bhajans or something over the top and masculine always. But Rowdy Rathore shows incredible sonic range. I honestly just adore the soundtrack. The other part, which is a big departure from classic Indian filmmaking, is the realism in the movies. Now, while the second one dials up the masala definitely, in general, the film is restrained without the superhero type antics we usually see in Indian movies.

[00:35:50]The hero faces challenges, defeats, uncertainty, loss, and goes through the [music] wringer during the tale. The violence is raw and gory, for sure, but again, it looks real. And while I started the segment saying [music] that I do think Rowdy Rathore is propaganda, I think it's good propaganda. It communicates ideas and events that have touched every Indian. It is a reminder of what Indians have faced and faced.

[00:36:11]But more than that, it is a display of bravery. This willingness to act and do the right thing for the greater good that I think sometimes is lost [music] in the notion of India today. Perhaps that's why when each movie begins with verses from the Bhagavad Gita, they were received so deeply. Because for a long time, Indians have been a people who debate, who think, who philosophize, and withdraw.

[00:36:32]But India is not just that. The Gita teaches us that Indians are also a people of action, of courage, of Dharma.

[00:36:39]So, it's here where I think Dorinda really hits the nail on the head. Beyond all the politics, real-life events, and cinematic spectacle, Dorinda tells the Indian audience that being Indian doesn't just mean tolerance. It means the courage [music] to stand up for righteousness, regardless of the consequences.

[00:36:55]That was a good video. That was a good video.

[00:36:58]Yeah, he thinks it's propaganda. I just think it's a good movie. I just think it's a good movie, but he agrees it's a good movie.

[00:37:04]But that's the thing. I I Again, again, there's nothing wrong with a patriotic film, and I like it because it is a patriotic film. I can see something that I would absolutely love.

[00:37:15]I I It's just something I I enjoy.

[00:37:17]Just something I enjoy. A man who's willing to do whatever it takes for his family. A man who's willing to do whatever it takes for his nation. It's just what a man is willing to sacrifice.

[00:37:28]I love that narrative.

[00:37:31]And anyone who has a problem with that kind of narrative, it speaks volumes for them.

[00:37:35]It speaks volumes.

[00:37:38]Uh bias for good people is a good thing.

[00:37:41]>> [laughter] >> Yeah, basically. Even the judge is uh biased towards justice. Yeah. Yeah, like again, there is uh everything has a bias. It just should be in the background.

[00:37:52]It should be in the background. It shouldn't be in the foreground. It shouldn't be the one the one thing you see throughout the entire film.

[00:37:59]It should be in the background. And the thing is, he's a relatable character.

[00:38:04]He's a man willing to do whatever he can, willing to sacrifice it all for his family.

[00:38:10]Willing to sacrifice it all for his nation.

[00:38:14]And that is a positive mindset.

[00:38:17]There is nothing wrong with that mindset, but for some reason, the people who hate everything about where they're from think that sacrificing yourself for your family, sacrificing yourself for your nation is evil.

[00:38:31]It speaks volumes about those people who see that thing that act of self-sacrifice as a bad thing.

[00:38:39]Like I was saying, the people who think it's a bad thing are the ones who wouldn't care if something happened to their family.

[00:38:48]They they just don't have that the capability of respecting their own.

[00:38:54]They're if anything it's more of a stepping stone.

[00:38:58]It's any it's just a way to get more more more clout. Oh, my my child was kidnapped. Oh, everyone everyone pray for me. Everyone send me kindness.

[00:39:06]Everyone it like it's just it's just a tool at that point cuz they don't care.

[00:39:11]They don't have the capability to think of a bigger picture, think of a grander scale cuz they just can't see themselves in these truly heroic characters.

[00:39:21]>> [music] >> I liked it. I liked it. You guys got a video?

[00:39:27]>> [music] >> That was so so bad.

[00:39:41]And don't forget to like and subscribe.

[00:39:43]Where is the Where is the sound guy?