Article 370 (film)

Article 370
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Aditya Suhas Jambhale
Screenplay by	Aditya Dhar Aditya Suhas Jambhale Arjun Dhawan Monal Thaakar
Story by	Aditya Dhar Monal Thaakar
Produced by	Jyoti Deshpande Aditya Dhar Lokesh Dhar
Starring	Yami Gautam Dhar Priyamani
Narrated by	Ajay Devgn
Cinematography	Siddharth Deena Vasani
Edited by	Shivkumar V. Panicker
Music by	Shashwat Sachdev
Production companies	B62 Studios Jio Studios
Distributed by	PVR Inox Pictures
Release date	23 February 2024 (2024-02-23)
Running time	158 minutes[1]
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	₹20 crore[2]
Box office	₹110.57 crore[3]

Article 370 is a 2024 Indian Hindi-language political action thriller film directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale, who co-wrote the film with Aditya Dhar, Aditya Suhas Jambhale, Monal Thaakar and Arjun Dhawan. Produced by Jyoti Deshpande, Aditya Dhar, and Lokesh Dhar, the film stars Yami Gautam Dhar and Priyamani, alongside Skand Thakur, Ashwini Kaul, Vaibhav Tatwawadi, Arun Govil, and Kiran Karmarkar. The film was released worldwide on 23 February 2024.

The critics praised the performance of Yami Gautam Dhar but criticised the film for distortion of facts, depicting narratives favouring the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party due to the then-upcoming elections and for ignoring the views of the Kashmiris.

The second chapter begins with Rajeshwari Swaminathan, the Joint Secretary at the PMO (Prime Minister's Office) been questioned about the stability and security of the Kashmir Valley. She meets with Jagmohan Patil, former Governor of Kashmir, to discuss the possibility of abrogating Article 370. She brings the NIA into Kashmir in order to stabilise the situation, which has worsened after the elimination of terrorist Burhan Wani, to investigate all terror cases in the state. Later, Salahuddin Jalal (based on Omar Abdullah) arrives at Delhi, and is guarded by NIA agent Zooni Haskar, who was originally based in Kashmir, but was demoted after her team's neutralisation of Wani. Meanwhile, Parveena Andrabi (Mehbooba Mufti) meets with Swaminathan to discuss the situation in Kashmir. She criticises the Central Government's operations in Kashmir without the State's approval. Jalal arrives soon later, and starts arguing with Andrabi. Jalal while going to meet the PM, talka to Zooni, mentioning her father, Kabir (a whistleblower who was framed in the J&K Bank scam), who was found dead in a lake in Kashmir by suicide, much to the frustration of Zooni. The scam was never able to be investigated by the Government of India due to Article 370. Rajeshwari meets with Zooni, trying to convince her to go back to Kashmir to try to abrogate Article 370. She refuses, but Rajeshwari asks her to sleep on it. After Rajeshwari tells Zooni that Kashmir is now under Governor's Rule, she accepts the offer under the condition two more people can be on the team.

In the third chapter, Zonni meets her team in Srinagar which includes Namita Chaturvedi, an Assistan Enforcement Officer for the ED, Gaurang Sengupta, a Finical Crime Consultant for the CBI, Ashish Mattoo, and her two requested members. She discusses a stone-pelting incident in Anatang, where youth were handed cash to throw stones. Shamsher Abdali was the primary suspect for the funding. They decide to investigate his dry fruit business if it has any leads, but it fails to obtain any evidence. Zooni, however, suggests that Abdali may may be using a different method rather than cash. So they instead raid a dry fruit warehouse, and discover that the workers work for a contractor, and they also kill Abdali. After tapping his phone, they discover that code-names are used in phone conversations. All of the code-names used as names of arch-angels in Islam such as Azrael.

The music of the film is composed by Shashwat Sachdev while lyrics are written by Osho Jain, Sudhanshu Saria, Kumaar and Sachdev.^[4]

The film was released worldwide on 23 February 2024. The film was premiered on Netflix from 19 April 2024.^[5]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 83% of 6 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10.^[6]

Devesh Sharma of Filmfare gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and stated that "the film is a cracker of an action film and if one doesn't dwell on its political stance much, can be thoroughly enjoyed as an action thriller."^[7] Abhishek Srivastava of The Times of India also rated 3.5 out of 5 stars and stated that "Article 370 remains engaging for the most part" and that the film "proves to be a worthwhile watch, offering enough substance to keep viewers engaged and invested".^[8] Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times wrote that "Article 370 underlines one of the most crucial chapters in our nation's history. With an impressive writing, simple narrative and outstanding direction, it effortlessly manages to send across the message it intends to".^[9]

Mukund Setlur, writing for the Deccan Herald gave a rating of 2.5/5 and added that "While elements of drama and action are aplenty, the film lacks the intelligence and the genuineness needed to sustain a conversation."^[10] The Koimoi gave it a rating of 1.5 out of 5 and noted that the movie aims to promote propaganda by terming itself as fiction but the characters of the movie depicting the Prime minister and the Home minister entirely resembles the current PM Narendra Modi and HM Amit Shah.^[11]

Calling it a "hard-hitting political drama", Titas Chowdhury of CNN-News18 rated 3.5 out of 5 stars, and stated that "the makers waste no time and dive into the crux of the story in the first half and it makes for a fast-paced experience till the point of intermission. It's the second half of the film that appears stretched out".^[12] Lachmi Deb Roy of Firstpost awarded 3 out of 5, calling it a "compelling narrative that informs and engages without making it look like a history and civics lesson. Article 370 is a true story of Kashmir's tortured history that had to be corrected and the maker of the film did complete justice to it!".^[13] Asmita Pant of CNBC TV18 wrote that "the film offers a grounded perspective on the Kashmir issue. It delves deep into emotions but never interrupts the story's flow", and that "the filmmakers have eschewed sensationalism for a factually accurate narrative infused with cinematic flair".^[14]

Sana Farzeen of India Today rated 3 out of 5 stars and added that "Article 370 is a well-made film but will test your patience with its run-time of 2 hours and 40 minutes", also noted that the film is "tuned to the propaganda value" for the ruling government.^[15] Shalini Langer of The Indian Express rated 2.5/5 and added that the film "serves its politics unabashedly as it mixes facts with fiction".^[16]

Critic from Bollywood Hungama gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and called it "a gripping tale that attempts to depict an important chapter of India’s history in an entertaining and simple manner."^[17] Rohit Bhatnagar of The Free Press Journal rated 3 in a scale of 5, stating that "Yami Gautam’s film voices truth but in a textbook manner ... Away from the picking political sides or even having his own ideology in place, Aditya sheds light on what had happened and that’s like cherry on top".^[18] Abhimanyu Mathur of Daily News and Analysis awarded 3.5 out of 5 stars, and said that "it is a technically well-made film, packed with great performances, seamless direction, and a solid background score"; it "excels when it is being a thriller", however, "the film falters when it tries to get political. Because at this point, it resorts to boring tropes, caricatures, and over-the-top acting".^[19]

The film is focused on Article 370 of the Constitution of India which granted special autonomous status to the region of Jammu and Kashmir. However, the critics have described the movie as "factually incorrect" and a “distortion” of facts.^[20][21]

Indian PM Narendra Modi had endorsed the movie and claimed it to be a source of "correct information", however, producer Aditya Dhar clarified that the movie is not a factual account but a work of fiction inspired by the actual events.^[22] The movie is seen by some as a "thinly veiled propaganda film" that favours India's ruling Bharatiya Janta Party in order to bring political mileage for it during the upcoming 2024 Indian general elections.^[23][24] The movie was made tax-free in two of the BJP governed states, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The film screening in different states was attended by the BJP leaders and in some instances they campaigned for the movie and the elections.^[25]

The film has been noted for having numerous factual inaccuracies, and one-sided narrative.^[22] It depicts the first Indian PM Jawaharlal Nehru to have delayed the accession of the Jammu and Kashmir princely state until Sheikh Abdullah was allowed power.^[26] This is contrary to the fact that Kashmir ruler Hari Singh had aligned himself with the Indian government only after his kingdom was attacked by the Pakistanis.^[10] At the same time, the film is silent on the BJP's coalition government with the Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party.^[26] The film normalises custodial beating and torture by presenting it as a necessary act against those who are "deserving it".^[22] It further shows contempt to the institutions of democracy including the opposition and the journalists.^[10]

As of 11 April 2024, Article 370 has grossed ₹98.06 crore (US$12 million) in India, with a further ₹12.51 crore (US$1.5 million) in overseas, for a worldwide total of ₹110.57 crore (US$13 million).^[3]

• Article 370 at IMDb
• Article 370 at Bollywood Hungama