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As soon as the newbie lawyer reaches the valley, he facetiously remarks, "wahan sirf terrorists marte hain, army wale nahi? ". This line is what the writers of shaurya must defend. The reason why an age-old movie makes a mention today is to signify how crudely "Aman ki Asha" was shoved down the throat of millions of unsuspecting Indians. Morarji Desai was given Nishan-e-Pakistan for his contributions to the State of Pakistan, including sabotaging the RAW mission to extract and prevent the nuclear program in Pakistan. The second person who was this close to the Pakistani establishment has to A. S. Daulat. One who was said to know everything about Kashmir, but instead of working out a solution, he kept the status quo, enjoying a leveraged position from the government and the separatists of the valley, selling a dream of peace which kept his coffers filling. 

At this time, India wanted to make a case for its pacifism, showing the west it was a follower of the Gandhian dogma to be slapped in both faces instead of one. One that Shaurya tries to portray with the character of Siddhant Choudary (Rahul Bose)

shows a progressive, free-spirited approach that clashes with Major Pratap (Kay Kay Menon). Sid feels deeply about his father's heroism as a personal loss; he dislikes that people don't love the army as they do their pets. To an extent, Sid so detests the military that you would beg him to quit his job. 

But that's only where some troubles with the narrative start. A lead actress is a media person with whom Sid develops a bond and confides in his deepest fears. This goes on to explain how the Indians were made to believe that the media somehow was a more empathetic companion to international happens than the army. Although none in the military (I can vouch on that even from my experience in the cadet corps) with ever entertain such an idea, when the country and sacrifice of thousands of army men are in question, none of the media houses which thrive on TRP and NGO funds are to be believed. This premise is not foreign to Indians, who have seen prominent media figures leak key army locations, which were ultimately military disasters, however, the government kept showering laurels on them. 

To credit where it's due, the movie does present a case for the potential misuse of power and ordnance in places of continuous military action, often with a bias and prejudice that stems from personal reasons. And that would demand officers be diligent and mindful of their orders. But this should be no excuse for indiscipline. Instead, in the true army spirit, what better serves the country is the proper duty of a soldier. 

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