The trailer release of Salman Khan-starrer ‘Battle of Galwan’, said to be based on the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes between Indian and Chinese troops, has triggered a meltdown in China, with state-run media house Global Times saying that the timing of the movie is “inappropriate” as it comes at a time when the bilateral relations between India and China have shown signs of improvement.
In an article, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party government said that “no amount of cinematic exaggeration can rewrite history or shake the PLA’s determination to defend China’s sovereign territory.”
Claiming that the Galwan Valley clashes erupted after Indian troops crossed over to the Chinese side, the Global Times said, “No matter how films dramatize or embellish events, they cannot change the core facts of the Galwan Valley incident”.
It further said that the film’s theme and timing are “inappropriate”, presents only a “one-sided Indian narrative” and stokes “antagonistic sentiment” at a time when China-India relations have only recently shown hard-won signs of easing.
The Chinese reaction came days after the trailer of Salman Khan-starrer released, on December 27. The film is scheduled to hit theatres across the world in April 2026.
In the film, Salman Khan plays Col Bikkumalla Santosh Babu, who was killed in action during the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes.
The clashes had taken place in the Galwan region on June 15, 2020, when about 200 Indian soldiers defended the Indian territory against more than 1,200 Chinese soldiers. At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the clashes.
China has officially acknowledged that four of its soldiers had died in the incident, though some international media reports put that number to as high as 42.