“Chauhaan,” teaser dropped on June 25, giving audiences their first look at what’s being billed as a political action thriller set in Kashmir. The film follows an Army officer tasked with putting down militant unrest amid scenes of stone-pelting and street clashes. Chauhaan is directed by Neeraj Yadav and produced by Jyoti Deshpande, Aanand L Rai and Himanshu Sharma, backed by Jio Studios and Colour Yellow Productions, and it’s scheduled to release on October 1, 2027.One line of dialogue in the teaser has taken over social media conversation, Devgn’s character says, “75 saal baad jawaab aa raha hai, Pathaanon se kehna, Chauhaan aa raha”. Fans online quickly linked the phrasing to Shah Rukh Khan’s 2023 blockbuster “Pathaan,” reading it as a nod to the two actors’ long-running box-office rivalry.That rivalry dates back three decades. Devgn and Khan both entered the industry in the early 1990s but built distinct followings- Khan through romance-driven stardom, Devgn through action and grounded roles. Their sharpest public clash came in 2012, when Khan’s “Jab Tak Hai Jaan” and Devgn’s “Son of Sardaar” released in the same Diwali window, leading to a dispute between Devgn’s production banner and Yash Raj Films over how theatre screens were divided between the two films. The two have stayed loosely connected since, largely through actor Kajol, Devgn’s wife, who has worked with Khan repeatedly and is often named among his preferred co-stars- even though Khan has said publicly that he and Devgn aren’t personally close.While that rivalry chatter has kept fans entertained, a more serious objection to the film has surfaced from a different corner. The Kshatriya Parishad, a Rajput advocacy organisation, issued a statement on X accusing the filmmakers of borrowing the Chauhan name- tied to a historic Rajput royal lineage- for what it described as communal or electoral purposes. The group argued that Rajput history should not be treated as material for political messaging, adding that the community already receives little fair representation in mainstream media without having its identity used to manufacture outrageIt closed its statement with a broader appeal, urging filmmakers and political figures to handle historical subject matter more responsibly rather than using it to spark division.Devgn, director Neeraj Yadav, and the production houses involved have not responded to the criticism as of now.