A 144-second first-look teaser for Ajay Devgn’s upcoming action film Chauhaan has reopened one of Kashmir’s most painful wounds. The teaser shows a conflict-scarred Kashmir: stone-pelting, security operations, crowd-control weapons and a young man hit in the eyes by pellets. Over these images, Devgn’s voiceover dismisses tear gas as ineffective, water cannons as temporary, and pellet guns as causing only “limited damage”.
The teaser, released on June 25, has triggered anger from Kashmir’s political parties, civil society voices and social media users. It has also drawn objections from the Kshatriya Parishad, a Rajput body, which says the film misuses the Chauhan clan name and drags Rajput history into present-day communal politics.