Why ‘Main Hoon Na’ is More Relevant Than Ever

It’s the early 2000s, and General Bakshi (Kabir Bedi) has just secured a major victory. India’s Parliament has approved the fictional Project Milaap, an initiative that will release 50 Pakistani prisoners of war — many of whom are poor farmers and villagers who have accidentally crossed the border. By releasing them, India is hoping to extend an olive branch to its neighbor Pakistan, with which it has already fought four wars, three of them over Kashmir. And so, Bakshi agrees to go on a talk show so he can explain Project Milaap’s significance.

The camera pans to Bakshi as he sits in front of a massive Project Milaap logo (fittingly, with a dove carrying an olive branch). “A chasm of 55 years can’t be solved with 50 prisoners,” Bakshi tells the talk show host. “But Project Milaap is one small step to cover the vast distance.” But not everyone is on board. Bakshi’s interview is quickly interrupted by gunfire as Raghavan (a brooding Suniel Shetty), a terrorist who believes India is being weak, arrives. 

Most might remember Farah Khan’s debut directorial, Main Hoon Na, as a film about an army man who goes undercover as a college student to protect General Bakshi’s daughter — and all the playful hijinks and songs that come with it. Yet, it was always so much more, a reflection of a moment in history when India and Pakistan, on-screen and off, both wanted peace and to address the longstanding issue of Kashmir. Today, more than ever, the film is both a memento and a warning of what could be.