“Dunkirk” accused of ignoring India's involvement

CAIRO – 29 July 2017: Reception for director Christopher Nolan's epic war drama “Dunkirk” hasn't all been positive; while reviews for the film in India were overall good, some took issue with Nolan's apparent shafting of India's presence. The Times of India said that India's "significant contribution" was missing from what was otherwise a "brilliant" film.

The number of Indian soldiers who helped participate in World War 2 is estimated to be around 2.5 million, serving alongside the British army. India Today, in their article "Miracle at Dunkirk: Indians too were trapped with Allied forces," states that 1,800 Indian soldiers brought over 2,000 mules carrying weapons and ammunition to warzone.

However, little factual data is available for the exact role the soldiers played, with BBC news quoting historian Yasmin Khan as wondering where to find all the data. Nolan has also gone on record to the Telegraph as stating the film is first and foremost a "survival story", and less concerned with the politics of war.

Overall though, it seems the people of India are not too bothered by the exclusion; the film opened on Friday July 21 in 416 theaters across the country, bringing in $2.4 million despite not being dubbed natively. BBC news reports that Denzil Dias of Warner Brothers (India) proclaimed this is thus far the biggest opening of any English-only film in India.