Indian producers battles to seek film titles ‘Operation Sindoor’, ‘Mission Pahalgam’

The operation served as a retaliatory measure against the extremism and cross-border terrorism.

By Sneha Sengupta On May 8, 2025

The film industry is now storming to get some key titles, hours after India’s strike down of Pakistan and Pakistan Occupied Jammu and Kashmir hideout under Operation Sindoor, post the fatal Pahalgam terror attack in Kashmir. As quoted by Hindustan Times, the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA) IMPPA have gained 12 applications, Western India Film Producers Association (WIFPA) have got 2 and the Producers’ Guild of India has received 10 applications for the stated registration as of now.

Statements from Indian producers

According to the protocol, producers and directors have to reserve the names in one among the four bodies — IMPPA, WIFPA, Indian Film and TV Producers Council (IFTPC), the Producers Guild of India. Producer Ashoke Pandit, member of IMPPA stated in conversation with HT, “The time you register your title gets stamped and the respective producers’ bodies confirm the time at which the application was made. Later, letters are exchanged between these film bodies confirming the name of the filmmaker who first managed to file the application. We get to know the result in the next meeting of the four producers’ bodies.”

Mumbai-based filmmaker Vishal Sarroye, one among the early applicant witnessed the operation and press statement on TV and shared, “When I saw the name ‘Operation Sindoor’ I felt ki ye title itna strong hai. Ye feeling thi humare andar ki humari behno ka sindoor le liya. It’s definitely an Uri kind of story which is impactful and people should know what exactly Operation Sindoor is. I am thinking of my story on Operation Sindoor with women leading it. The way two women officers (Col Sofia Quraishi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh) briefed the country about the operation, I want to make my film as a woman-oriented film. I don’t know if I will get the title or not but I have applied in the film and web series section under languages across the country.”

JD Majethia, Chairman of the Television & Web Wing of the Indian Film and Television Producers Council (IFTPC), verified that there have been numerous registrations for the titles “Operation Sindoor” and “Mission Pahalgam”. While he is unsure about the total applicants but poses the clear thought that making films on Indian military operations is not a great option to pursue.

He stated, “Main aisa manta hun ki military action ke topic pe jo film banti hai woh do-ek saal mein banti hai, woh nahi banni chahiye. The most important part of it is the process ki humne kaise planning kiya and attack kiya. Ab manoranjan ke liye uska climax theek hai but in that process we are showing our intelligence agencies investigation and we end up sharing a big secret of our country with the enemies. The detail of the intelligence shouldn’t be shared but any filmmaker will do the due diligence of getting details right. May be families of the Pahalgam attack might want to forget this in future but this film will remind them forever. So, I feel we should not do such a thing and it is my personal opinion.”

Amidst the updates, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industry Limited have been identified as a proprietor of the trademark of the military Operation Sindoor. However as per a statement on Thursday, the company has held back the trademark application “which was filed inadvertently by a junior person without authorisation”.