A teaser for Chauhaan, an upcoming film by Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn, has triggered sharp criticism from internet users over its portrayal of pellet gun victims.
The teaser shows a youth struck by pellets in the eyes during protests, while Devgn’s voiceover describes the injuries as “limited damage.”
According to multiple reports, over 10,000 people in Kashmir were hit by pellets between 2010 and 2016, with the highest toll, around 6,000 people including protesters, recorded during four months of street protests from July to October 2016.
At least 782 people were hit in the eyes, with many losing vision in one or both eyes.
The teaser drew strong condemnation online, with many users calling it a “trivialisation” and “deeply insensitive” portrayal of an issue that has left lasting physical and psychological scars on Kashmiris.
Several users directly challenged the film’s description of pellet guns as causing “limited damage,” pointing to the scale of injuries recorded in 2016 and citing individual cases, including 18-year-old Hiba Nisar, who lost an eye to pellet injuries. Calls to boycott the film also circulated widely online.
Some users accused the project of being a “propaganda movie,” questioning its timing and intent.
“Congratulations for shitting in the name of Cinema. @ajaydevgn stooped to a new low after Zubaan Kesari,” one user wrote.
“Pellet guns limited damage? wow you haven’t heard abt [about] the young girls & boys frm Kmr [Kashmir] who lost their eye sight becoz of pellet,” another user wrote, referencing Kashmiri pellet victim Insha.
Another wrote, “Pellet guns non-lethal? Test on your family.”
“Come back hoga wo bhi propegenda movie se (He will make a comeback, but with a propaganda movie),” another wrote.
Regional political parties in Jammu and Kashmir also criticised the teaser, calling out the film’s framing of pellet injuries as inaccurate and dismissive of the lived experience of victims.
A research paper examining the psychological impact of pellet injuries in Kashmir found that victims with eye injuries reported significantly higher rates of psychiatric illness.
Among those with eye injuries, depression was the most common condition at 30.38 percent, followed by adjustment disorder at 16.92 percent, panic disorder at 13.08 percent, and post-traumatic stress disorder and generalised anxiety disorder, both at 10.77 percent.
