India-Bharat row: Akshay Kumar film renamed Mission Raniganj The Great Bharat Rescue

Amid the ongoing India-Bharat naming controversy, the title of Akshay Kumar and Parineeti Chopra's forthcoming film has been changed from The Great Indian Rescue to Mission Raniganj: The Great Bharat Rescue. The makers took to social media to announce that the film's title has been changed. The filmmakers also released a motion poster of the film and revealed the movie's new release date. 

The India-Bharat controversy erupted on Tuesday, September 5, after invitations for a G20 dinner in New Delhi were sent out by the office of Droupadi Murmu, describing her as 'President of Bharat' instead of 'President of India'.

Opposition leaders, including Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, who first highlighted the development, accused the government of assaulting the idea of the country being a "Union of States", as mentioned in the Constitution which describes the country as "India, that is Bharat".

The move fuelled speculation that the India-Bharat issue could come up during the five-day special session of Parliament beginning September 18.

3 things you need to know

• Mission Raniganj: The Great Bharat Rescue is based on the life of mining engineer Jaswant Singh Gill, who rescued 65 miners from a flooded quarry in West Bengal in 1989.
• A resident of Amritsar, Gill received several awards for his act of bravery. He died in 2019 at the age of 80.
• The film is slated to release on October 6.

Akshay Kumar revises X post 

Akshay Kumar on Wednesday first put out the film's first-look on X captioning it: "In 1989, one man achieved the impossible! Watch the story of India's true hero with #MissionRaniganj in cinemas on..." 

Moments later, the actor deleted the post and put out a fresh post captioned: "In 1989, one man achieved the impossible! Watch the story of Bharat's true hero with #MissionRaniganj in cinemas on..."    

(Akshay Kumar deletes his posts on social media | Image: X)

Mission Raniganj: The Great Bharat Rescue motion poster

Mission Raniganj: The Great Bharat Rescue motion poster gives a peek into the "gripping rescue operation that unfolded when miners found themselves trapped in the 350-foot-deep coal mine", as per a press release shared by the makers.

Akshay Kumar as the late Jaswant Singh Gill emerges as the film's central figure, rescuing miners in "the greatest rescue mission beneath the rubble." Sharing the film's motion poster, Akshay wrote on Instagram, "In 1989, one man achieved the impossible! Watch the story of Bharat’s true hero with #MissionRaniganj in cinemas on 6th October. Teaser out tomorrow!"

About Jaswant Singh Gill, the man who inspired Akshay's Mission Raniganj: The Great Bharat Rescue

Mission Raniganj: The Great Bharat Rescue is inspired by the heroism of late Jaswant Singh Gill, a mining engineer. In 1989, Gill saved the lives of 65 miners trapped in a Raniganj coalfield. It was known as India's first coal mine rescue. To commemorate Gill's historic act of bravery, November 16 is celebrated by Coal India Ltd as 'Rescue Day'.

Gill received several awards for his act of bravery in 1989. He was awarded Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak by the then President of India Ramaswamy Venkataraman. A chowk in Majitha Road, Amritsar, was also named after him.

Twenty nine years after leading India's first coal mine rescue mission, Gill was called in to lead an operation to save labourers trapped in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district. Over a dozen miners were reportedly trapped on December 13, 2018 after water from the nearby Lytein River gushed into the illegal coal pit, as per PTI.

Jaswant Singh Gill died on November 26, 2019, at the age of 80. 

Mission Raniganj: The Great Bharat Rescue is Akshay and Parineeti's second collaboration after the 2019 film Kesari. The film is backed by Pooja Entertainment and directed by Tinu Suresh Desai, who previously helmed Akshay's 2016 movie Rustom. Mission Raniganj: The Great Bharat Rescue is produced by Vashu Bhagnani, Deepshikha Deshmukh, Jackky Bhagnani and Ajay Kapoor. 

(With inputs from PTI)