Dhruv Rathee Alleges Salman’s Maatrubhumi Reshot to Soften China

Salman Khan’s war drama Maatrubhumi: May War Rest in Peace is back at the centre of a political storm. YouTuber Dhruv Rathee used a Delhi press conference on October 11 to claim the film was reworked so that its portrayal of China became friendlier.

What Rathee said

Rathee was speaking a day after he was detained at his Gurugram home, before being released in the early hours of October 11. He described the detention as an “abduction” rather than a legal process.

On the film, Rathee alleged that the government did not want a project openly critical of China to arrive in its original form. He claimed the makers were told to reshoot portions and tilt the narrative in China’s favour.

“Make it favourable to China. We cannot go so strongly against them,” Rathee said at the press conference.

He also accused the government of being wary of China, the United States and Elon Musk, contrasting that with his own willingness to speak openly on YouTube.

A title that already had fans talking

The film was originally called Battle of Galwan. It is based on the 2020 Galwan Valley clash, in which 20 Indian Army personnel were killed. The title change alone had stirred debate on social media long before Rathee’s comments.

Reactions on X were mixed. Some argued the reported changes showed India could not even name China after its soldiers were killed, while others used the moment to discuss Salman Khan’s reported lack of interest in the project.

Release status, approvals and next steps

The creators have not confirmed Rathee’s reshoot claim. But the film has moved through part of the clearance chain:

• The revised version reportedly received a no-objection certificate from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry in September.
• The next submission is to the Central Board of Film Certification.
• November 13 is under consideration as a possible release date.

Those dates remain indicative, and a shift in the CBFC timeline or final cuts could still change the calendar.

Why this matters

For audiences, this is not just another release-date story. When a film is built around 20 fallen soldiers, title changes and reported reshoots feel personal. They ask fans to consider how much of the real conflict survives between the first announcement and the final edit.

Until the CBFC clears a final version, expect every update on Maatrubhumi to be read through that question.

Source: India Today