MUMBAI: A month before the release of Salman Khan’s Ek Tha Tiger, Vikram Vashishtha, nephew of martyr and real life spy Ravindra Kaushik has asked for a special screening of the movie on the grounds that the promos of the movie reveal a striking resemblance to his uncle Ravindra’s life.
Vikram has sent a legal notice to Yash Raj films, and copies of that notice to the film producers, Central Board of Film Certification, Film & TV Producers Guild and Film Federation of India asking for a special screening or sharing the original screenplay. He wants to ensure that the movie is well-researched because he alleges that the film makers did not contact the family before making the film.
Like Salman’s character in the film, Ravindra Kaushik was with the Research Analysis Wing (RAW) and was offered a job for secret intelligence in Pakistan. In his time there, he had fallen in love with a Pakistani girl, and fought not just for the country, but also for his love. He had provided valuable information to the Indian defence. But, eventually, Ravindra was given the death sentence in 1985, which was converted to life imprisonment. He somehow sent out letters sharing the pathetic health condition and trauma faced by him in Pakistan jails. He was awarded the title of ‘Black Tiger’ by RAW and also by the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. “Ravindra’s family fought a long battle till 2002 when he died in a Multan (Pakistan) jail. Before making such a film on the martyr’s life I think the makers should have researched well and contacted us,” Vikram has said.
