May 12, 2005 01:45 PM
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(Updated May 12, 2005 02:52 PM)
“Bose – The Forgotten Hero” is a movie about the life of an unsung hero of India’s struggle for freedom - Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. This film by Shyam Benegal is the first proper attempt in Bollywood to capture the life of Netaji.
~ A Look Into The History ~
Born on 23rd January 1887 in a Bengali family at Cuttack, SC Bose had eight brothers and six sisters. Mahatma Gandhi called him “Patriot of Patriots” after seeing the immense love he had for his motherland.
He cleared the ICS exams with flying colours in 1920 but since he wasn’t interested in serving the British government, he rejected that job. His main purpose was to liberate India and for that he was ready to face any difficulty of any kind. He joined Congress with this aim and became their president. But when Gandhi Ji signed the Irwin Pact in 1931 and didn’t save Bhagat Singh his faith on his non-violence methods broke away.
He felt that attack was the best form of defense at that stage & wanted the India’s struggle for freedom to become more militant in nature but Gandhi Ji (who were a supporter of winning the enemy with love) didn’t like this idea at all. Netaji managed to become Congress’ president again in 1939 by defeating Gandhi Ji’s candidate Sitaramaiyya (1580 – 1371 votes). But he was arrested again in the year 1940 and then put into house arrest since his health deteriorated because of fasting.
~ Movie Review ~
The movie starts from the year 1941 when Netaji escapes from the arrest and reach Germany via Afghanistan and Russia. There he submits a memorandum to the German government, which outlined a plan for co-operation between the Axis powers and India. He meets Hitler who is ready to help him since they both were fighting the common enemies Britain and Russia (which wasn’t too interested in India’s freedom).
He reached Tokyo in 1943 through a submarine provided to him by Hitler. This was the only man-to-man transfer through submarine during the Second World War. He formed the Azad Hind Fauj there, which consisted of Indian prisoners of war. He also included females in his army (Netaji believed if Rani Lakshmibai could fight like a true warrior, other girls could do that as well). Azad Hind Fauj was able to take control of Kohima – Imphal in 1944.
But its success was hindered after Japan wasn’t able to fulfill the promise of helping them as America atom bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 due to the Pearl Harbour attack. Japan surrendered but Netaji made it clear that their Azad Hind Fauj will never ever give up and they’ll keep fighting till they eventually get their freedom. Few days later it was reported that Netaji died in a plane crash.
A couple of years later in 1947 Netaji’s dream of an independent India came true but sadly he wasn’t there to see it with his own eyes. However, it’s very clear that without the efforts of the brave Azad Hind Fauj, India’s road to freedom wouldn’t have been that easy.
Sachin Khedekar has played the role of Netaji and this undoubtedly is the best role of his career so far. In fact, this may prove to be the turning point he was looking for. He carries the whole film on his strong shoulders and gives a memorable performance. He looked a bit expressionless in a couple of scenes but overall we must congratulate him for portraying such a difficult role so well.
Rajpal Yadav is excellent as always. His role in the movie is of that guy who escorts Netaji from India to Afghanistan. Rajpal has yet again proved that it’s not necessary that longer the role, more memorable your character will be. He has delivered a brilliant performance in a cameo.
Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Ila Arun are the couple who give Netaji refuge in Afghanistan. Both have enacted their parts superbly and provide some comic relief in between. Rajeshwari is the female head of Netaji’s army and gives a satisfactory performance but a scope for improvement can’t be denied. Rest of the crew has given acceptable performances.
The music of the movie is very good. Dialogues are well written and quiet powerful at times. All in all, it’s a pretty good flick as long as you know your history and English.
And this is the fact that can hamper the commercial success of the movie. About half of the movie is in English and a person who isn’t very well acquainted with the language and the past history, may not get much out of it. It’s very clear that it has been made for well-educated people i.e. the classes and not the masses. Therefore, everyone won’t be able to appreciate it to an extent that it should be.
One more area where this movie lack behinds is that when you compare it with films like Gandhi or The Legend Of Bhagat Singh its impact isn’t as powerful as them. And I feel sad to say this, because Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was a very powerful individual whose impact on India’s struggle for freedom can’t be denied. The movie drags in small parts and doesn’t quite raise your patriotic feelings to the extent that it should have. And that’s the sole reason that I haven’t given this flick 5 stars.
But other than these small slip-ups it’s a very well made film which deserves its 4 stars. Every Indian must watch it. It’s not a film against Gandhi, it’s a film which depicts the greatness of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. There are a few controversies attached with this film as well. Some people in Bengal opposed the film because they don’t believe that Netaji died and also they don’t agree with Netaji being shown as married.
~ What Are We Doing With The Freedom? ~
After the movie ended and I came back into the year 2005 from 1945, I felt ashamed of being a part of the generation which doesn’t understands the worth of the freedom that our great leaders fought so hard for. They knew they may never see the freedom with their own eyes, but still fought for it so that we could breath in a free India. And have we ever thought what we are doing with this freedom? How brutally are we wasting the sacrifices made by our great freedom fighters? Ask yourself, is this the kind of India they had dreamt of? I wonder how hurt they maybe after seeing the country’s present state from the heavens!
Anyways, rather than giving you a dose of more bitter truth I’d like to conclude this review by recommending this film to all those who have even a morsel of patriotism left in them! Jai Hind!
© Tanmay Singh, 2005
