By Admin 
After the release of the 1.12-minute teaser of Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s upcoming film ‘Battle of Galwan’, the Chinese media has criticized it. Reacting to this, government sources on Tuesday (30 December 2025) said that cinema is a medium of creative freedom and India does not restrict it.
Global Times criticized the film
This film is based on the clash between Indian and Chinese soldiers in Galwan Valley in 2020. China’s media organization ‘Global Times’ claimed about this film that facts have been distorted in it. Salman has played the role of B. Santosh Babu in this film directed by Apoorva Lakhia. In the year 2020, Santosh Babu and 19 other soldiers of 16 Bihar Regiment were martyred while protecting Indian territory. Santosh Babu was posthumously awarded the Mahavir Chakra, India’s second highest wartime gallantry award.
Teaser released on Salman Khan’s birthday
The teaser of the film was released on Saturday (27 December 2025) on the occasion of Salman Khan’s 60th birthday. In the teaser, Salman and a group of Indian soldiers are shown getting ready to confront the Chinese soldiers running towards them. In the teaser, Salman Khan says, ‘Remember the soldiers, if you get injured, consider it a medal and if you see death, salute.’
‘Tradition of cinematic expression in India’
This teaser has been viewed more than six crore times on different social media platforms. A government source said, ‘India has a tradition of cinematic expression. The film ‘Haqeeqat’ was made in 1964 and its subject was the India-China war of 1962. Recently a film 120 Bahadur was released on the battle of Rejang La. Cinema is a medium of artistic expression and India does not ban it.”
Many Indian media organizations have published reports on the teaser and criticism from Chinese media. The Global Times described the film as propaganda and cited a ‘China expert’ and several Weibo (Chinese social media platform) accounts as finding fault with various aspects of the short teaser.
Events do not match facts: Chinese media
The newspaper claimed, ‘A Chinese expert said that Bollywood films are now more based on entertainment and emotions, but no amount of cinematic exaggeration can change history nor weaken the strong determination of the Chinese military to defend China’s territory. There have been other controversies online regarding this film. People have raised questions on things like the costumes of other actors, the hairstyles of the actors which do not match their military characters or the extreme cold shown in the story. The most important thing is that the events shown do not match the facts.
There was a clash between the armies of the two countries in eastern Ladakh.
The producers of Battle of Galwan are Salman Khan and his mother Salma Khan. This film will be released on 17 April 2025. The military standoff in eastern Ladakh started in May 2020. The clashes in Galwan Valley in June of the same year brought great tension in the relations between India and China. On June 15, 2020, 20 Indian Army soldiers were martyred in the clashes in Galwan Valley.
In February 2021, China officially admitted that five of its military officers and soldiers were killed in the clashes. However, it is generally believed that more than five Chinese soldiers were killed.