Beijing vs Bollywood: Global Times accuses Salman Khan’s ‘Battle of Galwan’ of distorting history

New Delhi: The Global Times, a prominent state-run media outlet of the Chinese Communist Party, launched a scathing critique Tuesday against the upcoming Bollywood film Battle of Galwan, accusing the production of fabricating history to incite anti-China sentiment. 

The backlash follows the Dec. 27 teaser release for the war drama, which stars veteran actor Salman Khan as Colonel Bikkumalla Santosh Babu. The film, scheduled for an April 2026 release, dramatises the June 2020 hand-to-hand combat between Indian and Chinese troops in the Galwan Valley.

In a Dec. 30 editorial, the Global Times characterised the film as "ideological toxins" and "nationalistic melodrama." The outlet reiterated Beijing's official stance, claiming Indian troops "illegally trespassed" into Chinese territory and "violently attacked" officers during negotiations. This narrative sharply contrasts with Indian military reports and independent satellite imagery, which indicate that Chinese forces ambushed Indian soldiers using nail-studded clubs and barbed-wire-wrapped sticks.

Chinese state-aligned analysts also dismissed the film’s portrayal as "unreal" and "simplistic."

“No amount of cinematic exaggeration can rewrite history or shake the PLA's determination to defend China's sovereign territory,” said Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert quoted in the article.

The Global Times specifically targeted Salman Khan, 60, mocking his cinematic reputation for playing "invincible" heroes. The report also sought to amplify domestic Indian social media critiques that compared the teaser’s visuals to the "Battle of the Bastards" sequence from Game of Thrones, using the comparisons to label the film a derivative work of fiction.

The state media outlet also used the occasion to reassert China's contested casualty figures. While Beijing took eight months to acknowledge only four deaths, international intelligence agencies and independent reports have estimated Chinese fatalities at 35 or higher.

The aggressive response highlights Beijing's continued sensitivity regarding the 2020 skirmish, which remains a primary source of friction in bilateral relations. Critics of the CCP's stance noted that China frequently produces high-budget, state-backed war epics, such as The Battle at Lake Changjin, to promote its own nationalist ideologies.

The film, directed by Apoorva Lakhia, is currently in production and is expected to be one of India's major cinematic releases of 2026.