Although, in the age of multiplexes the films with small enterprise structure are thriving, with the latest beneficiary being Subhash Kapoor’s ‘Phans Gaya Re Obama’; a film made on a small budget with actors who can deliver the goods on screen, a neat marketing plan (minus the gimmicks) followed by sale of screening rights to a satellite channel. Profit guaranteed. Ask Aamir Khan, the shrewdest of the film marketers. He produced the highly acclaimed Peepli [Live] for a shoe string budget of Rs10 crore and even before the release of the film the TV rights were reportedly sold off for that amount of money. Every penny the film earned after that was up and above of the production cost.

Lesson learnt: It is not too difficult to make money in the business of entertaining people, all one needs is a good story and an able story teller!

Besides being one of the most entertaining performers, Helen is credited with bringing about the cabaret or burlesque elements into the Indian film industry. She may not be the first, but she is certainly the most popular and endearing champion of this art form. At a time when leading ladies were bound to work within rigid concepts of Indian moral value systems, Helen, the quintessential outsider with her sino-western looks slipped easily into the role of the vixen or moll with a brilliant dance number to boot. Most of the times, Helen’s item numbers had no relevance whatsoever to the film’s continuity. But she is still remembered for them which is a testament to her on screen charisma. According to film lore, Helen not only choreographed her own dance moves, but she was also actively involved in the design aspects of her outrageous outfits as well as the styling of her looks. And this was what would set her apart from all the other item girls to come. Some of the classic Helen looks were the blonde bouffant wigs, fantastic feather head gears, dramatic cat’s eye-makeup, coloured contact lenses and sheer bodysuits covered with rhinestones.

As an immigrant during the Second World War, Helen’s own life has been akin to a melodramatic film story. Family constraints compelled her to leave studies and join films as a chorus dancer. Her big break came in 1958 in the most unassuming of ways. The film was Howrah Bridge starring the ethereal Madhubala and Ashok Kumar. Director Shakti Samantha had captured the actress in her seductive best in the song “Aaiye Meherbaan”. But music director O.P. Nayyar had composed another peppy number “Mera Naam chin Chin Choo” and Helen, a moderately known dancer was chosen to be the danseuse. The nimble footed, fully clothed Helen more than matched up to the gusty vocals of Geeta Dutt, and India’s dancing girl had arrived.

The Asha-Helen combo started with the 1966 release Teesri Manzil, a Naseer Hussain production with music from a brand new composer, R.D. Burman. Few minutes into the film and audiences were witness to an electrifying number “O Haseena Zulfowali”. The white stage set was the perfect backdrop for a colourfully dressed Helen, and matching her step to step was no other than Shammi Kapoor. Now you can’t get more flamboyant than that!

By 1971, Helen had mastered the art of cabaret to such an extent that she created a dance form that was uniquely Helen, which no actress has been able to copy till date. “Piya Tu” was the number, and a stocking clad Helen heaved and writhed on the stage, and the Indian audience couldn’t get enough of this beauty with the come hither eyes.

By the 70’s, Helen’s reign as the undisputed dancing queen was ending. The new breed of heroines, Zeenat Aman and Parveen Babi were certainly no shrinking violets. Longtime friend and later husband Salim Khan roped her in for “Mehbooba Mehbooba” for which we are all thankful. Wearing a gypsy inspired outfit, Helen gyrated her way into one of the top ten Indian films of all time – Sholay.

During the last leg of her career, Helen decided to push the envelope so to say. Instead of a western dance number, the audience saw the dancing queen in an Indian avatar. Wearing a nauvari sari, Helen crooned to “Mungda Main Gud Ki Dali” in the 1978 release Inkaar. The film may not be fresh in the public memory, but Helen’s number certainly is.

“Ye Mera Dil” is seen by many as Helen’s swan song. Cabarets’ were no longer part of the Indian film scene and vamp roles were hard to come by. Again scriptwriter Salim Khan came to her rescue by pitching her against rising star Amitabh Bachchan in Don (1978). Helen’s screen time was all of 10 minutes, but within those scant minutes she burned her way into the psyche of the Indian audience. Years later, a Kapoor scion tried to recreate the same magic but didn’t get far. Like they say, you shouldn’t tamper with something that’s perfect.

Ask any 13 year old from for his favourite character from popular culture, it would inevitably be an Edward Cullen or a Harry Potter…but favourite actor will either one of Shah Rukh/Aamir/Hrithik or Salman. The point is, our industry has given them idols through the personas that our stars portray on the celluloid, but when it comes to relatable characters we lag far behind in the race. But on the occasion of Children’s Day, IIFA brings to you a list of gems from Indian Cinema which spoke to children and adults in a language that both were able to comprehend and relate to.

Mr India (1987):
Shekhar Kapur’s blockbuster adapts the myth of the “invisible man” to Indian setting and makes him a crusader against corruption who takes on an international crime syndicate to save an orphanage. All the actors gave career defining performances; Anil Kapoor as Mr India and Amrish Puri as the legendary Mogambo were terrific to say the least. Children, those who were cast on-screen and those who watched the film, had a blast with Mr India. It tickled them silly, and also taught them the old super-hero adage – with great powers, come great responsibilities. Also, for the children of 80s, having a desi superhero was kind of cool!

Taare Zameen Par (2007):
Aamir Khan’s directorial debut was of a precocious 8-year old child, Ishaan (Darsheel Safary), was one of the rare films in recent times that got critical acclaim and commercial success in equal measure. Written by Amol Gupte, TZP is about Ishaan’s artistic talent neglected by his utilitarian parents & “result oriented” teachers for whom a 100% in mathematics is the only yardstick of success. What they fail to see are the symptoms of Dyslexia which is threatening to subdue Ishaan’s artistic talents before a sympathetic art teacher (Aamir Khan) comes to his rescue. The film was screened in many films, while a lot of teachers and educators appreciated the filmmakers for shedding light on the difficulties that differently-abled children go through on a day-to-day basis. As an aside, Aamir Khan’s Mohawk hair-cut also caught on with children post the films’ release. Music is another strong point in the film.

Makdee (2002):
Vishal Bhardwaj is by far one of the finest filmmakers of our age, and Makdee was small production which brought big acclaim for the director as it won the second prize at the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival and Shweta Prasad won the National Film Award for Best Child Artist for portraying the role of twin sister, Chunni & Munni, in the film. The film is about a mansion haunted by a witch (Shabana Azmi) on the fringes of the village where Chunni & Munni live with their grandmother and father. People across age group appreciated the film, and the children just went berserk by Chunni & her side-kick Mughle-Azam’s shenanigans, while enthralled at the same time by her bravery in rescuing her sister and host of other people from the evil witches’ clutches.

Anjali (1990):
A Mani Ratnam classic, Anjali is the story of a girl born with terminal illness. Little Anjali is almost destined to not live beyond a certain age, but despite her tender age and lack of ability to comprehend things as they are she spreads unconditional warmth wherever she goes. A story of how the judgmental societal structure needs a ray of sunshine to temper the negative tide, this gem of a film bagged the prestigious National Award in multiple categories; best film, best child artist (Shamili, Tarun & Shruthi), and best audiography. The title track composed by Illayaraja is still popular amongst children.

Hanuman (2005):
A heart warming animation film which brought Indian mythology alive to children in a non-didactic way, Hanuman was a film that never suggested that it will appeal to a “wider audience”; all pretences were dropped. An out-an-out kiddie flick, Hanuman tells the journey of this desi super-hero like figure from his birth to his alliance with Lord Rama in the war against “evil”. An intelligent script, with some witty dialogues combined to let children have a whale of a time during this 90-minute long film. Children hooted with joy while the producers went home with a bagful of money, everybody lived happily ever after.

We end this post with the timeless song from Masoom, another film where fate of a child was the focus of the story although the subject was a bit too mature to include in the list. Anyway enjoy Gulzar sa’ab and RD Burman’s fablesque composition

As an award dedicated solely to Indian music, musicians and musicianship – but most importantly something that goes beyond the hallowed turf of Bollywood – GIMA is first of its kind in the history of Indian entertainment industry, and with credible names on the jury list it won’t be just another “award ceremony” to fill air time.

The core issue GIMA relates to is recognition of talent in Indian music across Film and Non-Film genres and to revive and promote Non-Film music genres in Indian music such as Classical, Semi-Classical, Devotional Music, Fusion and Popular Music across traditional and new media platforms.

Some of the biggest names of the Indian music industry including Asha Bhonsle, Sunidhi Chauhan, Shaan, Shankar Mahadevan, Ustad Rashid Khan, Pt Vishva Mohan Bhatt, Salim-Suleiman and Shreya Ghoshal among many others are likely to attend the awards evening in Mumbai, and all of them will put their hands together when melody queen Lata Mangeshkar will be conferred with the ‘Lifetime achievement award’ for enthralling audiences across many generations with her voice. This one event is expected to be the high point of the evening, but this won’t be all.

Actor Saif Ali Khan will don his rocker garb and jam with musician (and GIMA jury member) Pritam Chakroborty on tracks like “Yeh dooriyan…” from Love Aaj Kal and also a medley of songs by yesteryear composer R.D. Burman. Buckle up and get ready to be part of this musical journey, we think this is going to be one hell of a ride.

After playing second lead in films like Deewana, King Uncle, Maya Memsaab (in a critically acclaimed performace), his first big break came with Abbas-Mustan’s revenge saga ‘Baazigar’. But what a lot of people don’t know is that Aamir Khan, his biggest rival in the current scenario, had a big hand in SRK landing the role.

The story goes that, Aamir Khan was first offered ‘Baazigar’, but he turned it down due to apparent discomfort that he had in portraying a cold blood killer on screen. Shah Rukh took his chance and his performance is etched on the psyche of legions of his fans. A similar turn of events followed with Darr, Aamir refused and SRK’s “kkkiran…” became a sort of verbal totem for jilted lovers across the country.

After this, he did another volt face and portrayed the perfect lover boy in Aditya Chopra’s directorial debut, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995). To say that it was a monster hit would be to underplay the impact the film had on the industry. Its all-time collection of Rs 267,77,00,000 makes it one of the all time blockbusters of our era. The year 1997 was tremendous for Shah Rukh as he Yes Boss, Pardes and Dil To Pagal Hai releases almost simultaneously. He was officially a superstar now.

From then on he has just consolidated his position in the industry and has become perhaps the most dependable actors and definitely the most marketable face (except a few top cricketers) in the country. String of big hits like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Mohabattein (2000), DevDas (2002), Kal Ho Na Ho (2003), Veer Zara, Swades (both 2004), Don (2006), Chak de India, Om Shanti Om (2007) and most recently My Name is Khan (2010) have made him a darling amongst the masses and the classes alike.

IIFA also had the privilege of appreciating his performances and his one of the rare actors who has won the prestigious IIFA Best Actor awards more than one occasion; in fact he has won it thrice. First occasion was for Devdas (in 2003), followed by Veer Zara (2005) and Chak de India (2008). As he turns 45, IIFA wishes him all the best for the crucial year ahead where big releases like Ra. One and Don-2 are lined up. We hope he follows his usual form, and delivers.

Bees Saal Baad (1962)
Starring Biswajeet and Waheeda Rehman, Hemant Kumar’s masterpiece, Bees Saal Baad was a copy of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Hound of Baskervilles”. The story goes that a clan of Thakurs are cursed as one of their ancestors raped and killed a village girl. After her death, the girl’s spirit kills all the male heir’s who come to claim their legacy. The movie had all the ingredients for a good spook fest –isolated haveli, sinister characters, haunting music, a fatal curse, and not to mention great camera angles. And the audiences were suitably impressed when a scene showed hands coming out of a tree trunk to strangle the victims. A massive hit in the 60’s, Bees Saal Baad proved that the Indian janta were prime audience for atmospheric horror films.

Jaani Dushman (1979)
Before he became a father desperately trying to make a star of his son Armaan Kohli, Rajkumar Kohli was the Midas man as far as horror films were concerned. His movies were a curious mix ofsuspense and scary tales, sprinkled with a star cast a mile long. And following in this line was his 1979 film, Jaani Dushman (not to be mistaken for his 2002 film starring his son, which incidentally shares the same name). In the 1979 version, we have a ruthless man/monster going on a killing spree of all brides who wear red as a revenge for his own unfaithful bride who cheated on him. Of course a number of characters are killed before this evil can be controlled. In the end, Amrish Puri is revealed as the monster who kills the women, but not before you see half the Bombay film industry. Sunil Dutt, Rekha, Shatrughan Sinha, Vinod Mehra, Sanjeev Kumar, Neetu Singh, Jeetendra, Reena Roy, Aruna Irani, Madan Puri, Amrish Puri, Shakti Kapoor, Premnath, McMohan, Raza Murad et all share screen space in this hit horror flick. Quite a crowd no?

Veerana (1988)
When we are talking about horror flicks how can we not include the Ramsay Brothers? Arguably the most prolific producers of low grade horror films, the Ramsay Brothers are a legacy in themselves. But for now, we would focus on one of their more successful ventures- Veerana. A convoluted story involving a haunted haveli, a witch and a family of Thakurs, the movie was nevertheless quite a hit among the audience. The film can best be described as campy with bad camera angles, excessive use of colour gels, ghastly make-up and stagy props to create bad horror atmospheric scenes. But this proved a precursor for a string of sleazy horror flicks to hit the screens in the 80’s, most of which were money spinners for all the people involved.

Raat (1992)
Believe it or not, but pre Ram Gopal Verma Ki Aag, RGV was actually a director who made good non-gansta films, with horror being one of his particular favourites. And even before Urmila’s spirit possession in Bhoot, there was a Raat which frankly scared the bejeebers out of us. RGV’s camera angles and his ability to spring surprises when least expected lends itself perfectly to the horror genre, something he worked to perfection in the forest scene where Deepak (China) first sees his girlfriend (Revathi) in her possessed form. Creative ideas do seem to have been somewhat borrowed from the cult classic Exorcist, but inspite of this, Raat still stands as one of RGV’s best horror flick till date. Sadly somewhere along the line RGV lost the plot and now has a Phoonk and an Agyaat to account for.

Raaz (2002)
And now we come to the current horror specialist – Vikram Bhatt. His horror phase started with Raaz, starring Bipasha Basu, Dino Morea, Malini Sharma and Ashutosh Rana. An adaptation of Harrison Ford- Michelle Pfeiffer starrer “What Lies Beneath”, Raaz became the surprise hit of 2002. Shot in the misty locales of Ooty, Raaz fully exploited all the accepted traits of a horror flick – a vengeful spirit stalking her lover even after her death, and a devoted wife trying to save her unfaithful husband who cheated on her. Since then Vikram Bhatt has served us with a constant diet of horror flicks – Raaz 2, 1920 and Shaapit, but they haven’t whetted our appetite as much as Raaz. Certainly not a classic, but the Raaz does have its moments (especially the incantation ritual and the eerie forest scenes), and we do admit that it is worthy of being included in a scary fest watch.

While Dabangg, with collections worth more than Rs 80 crore in its very first week is all set to be an all time blockbuster in the history of Bollywood, Rajneeti did well due to its stellar star cast, while Shah Rukh’s popularity in the overseas market carried MNIK beyond the break even boundary. But another superstar, Hrithik Roshan had no such luck with Kites flopping badly.

Amidst all this gloom, movie mandarins are praying hard for a sweet November, as big budget films like Action Replayy (Akshay Kumar & Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), Golmaal 3 (Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor & Mithun Chakaravarty), Guzaarish (Hrithik Roshan & Aishwarya Rai) are all set to be released during the Diwali season. Traditionally the “Diwali releases” have inflated the Indian film industry’s annual bottom-line on a number of occasions. This season, it is imperative that an encore takes place.

A decent opening from Raktha Charithra would have made distributors happier, knowing that they are going into the Diwali season with momentum on their side, but with too many releases coinciding with RGV’s political thriller (Jhootha Hi Sahi, Hissss), the effect of positive review for the film might get watered down.

So it all comes down to a retro-masala (Action Replayy), madcap comedy (Golmaal 3) and a love-story in the backdrop of euthanasia debate (Guzaarish) to salvage 2010 for the Indian film industry. Ladies and gentlemen, even T20 cricket can’t get more exciting than this so buckle up!

Being Dharamendra’s son has certain advantages, license to bash up bad guys all over the place in your very first film is one of them. So when a 27-year-old appeared on the celluloid in Betaab (1983), expectations from the box-office, and a loyal legion of Dharam paaji fans, were quite high. The film was a smash hit, and the rest, as the cliché goes, was history. Though Sunny got his most significant release in 1985 with Arjun, a taut socio-political thriller where he reflected the angst of the disillusioned, jobless youth to the perfection. The role got him noticed in the industry as something more than a star-son, and helped him to gain foothold in the industry.

What separated his films from other masala fare of that era was the fact that Sunny was a performer. When he was angry, the audience felt his rage for the injustice met out to his on-screen characters (Arjun, Ghayal, Ghatak etc), while his comic timing was impeccable as well. The reason behind this is his solid acting background which was honed during his stay in England in late 70s and early 1980s. He studied theatre and acting in Birmingham’s Old World Theatre.

He blossomed into a fine performer bagging the prestigious National award twice; Special Jury Award in 1991 for Ghayal and Best Supporting Actor in 1994 for Damini. As the awards show, the period between 1990 and 1997 was the most rewarding in Sunny’s career. It seemed as if he can do no wrong during this period; his partnership with stalwart directors like Rajkumar Santoshi and JP Dutta also helped. String of hits like Tridev, Ghayal, Vishwatma, Dacait, Narsimha, Damini, Darr, Jeet, Ziddi, Border – all of these were huge hits, and on the peripheries were some above average hits which made money only because of the fact that Sunny Deol starred in it.

Then came Border (1997), a period war film based on true events from the 1971 Indo-Pak war and it showed that Sunny Deol has transcended to the level of superstar in the industry. The film had a host of actors – Sunil Shetty, Jackie Shroff, Akshaye Khanna among others – but what stood out in the film was Sunny’s fearsome dialogues and his charge, with a RPG on shoulder, in the climax. His fan power made the film one of the most successful in the history of Indian cinema.

Another example to show Sunny’s sway over his fans came during the release of Gadar – Ek Prem Katha, a film that turned out to be one of the biggest blockbusters ever in Bollywood. It played in Punjab for several weeks and so unrelenting was the demand for the film that theatre owners had to organize special shows from 6am in the morning! The film won Sunny many accolades and he was also nominated in IIFA’s Best Actor category in 2001. It’s a pity that it was the breakthrough year of Hrithik Roshan and his performance in Kaho naa… PyaarHai got him the nod ahead of Sunny.

In recent times, Sunny has been found missing in action; some call it his reluctance to push himself now, others say, “his kind of movies are off the menu in 21st century”. But the fact is when this Punjab da puttar roars, the audience will come back marching in the theatres.

Today, on his birthday we hope to see him in many more action flicks – afterall, action speaks louder than words.

Dabangg

This makes us think that, is there a direct relationship between a film’s success and festive season, and if there is why do films which do not release in the known holiday season do well, or sometimes even better? Even before its release, Dabangg’s fate as a hit was sealed – Anant Verma, business head, DT Cinemas told Business Standard a day before the film’s release, “The response has been very good, almost at par with My Name is Khan and 3 idiots. We are looking at 90 per cent occupancy on Friday and 100 per cent occupancy on Saturday and Sunday.” His words proved to be prophetic, because not only it did the film rolled over the first Friday milestone of 13 crore set by `3 Idiots’, it has also comfortably overhauled the first weekend mark of Rs 41 crore, also set by 3 Idiots.

‘3 Idiots’ was released during the Christmas holiday season, and this makes one wonder – is releasing big budget films during festive season the only way to earn big bucks, by cashing in on the ‘Joie de Vivre’ sentiment of the occasion? Whatever happened to the good old idea of enticing viewers in the theatre through story telling and excellent on screen performances? While Salman’s performance in Dabangg has been lauded by almost everyone, the absence of the story line was apparent even in the promos of the film! For an industry producing more films than anyone else year after year, this indeed is a worrisome trend.

Anyway, enough of this philosophical clap-trap…whoever wolf-whistled in theatre during Munni Badnaam Hui say ‘aye’!

Border (1997)

J.P. Dutta’s Border can be classed as the most successful war movie till date. Made on epic scale with an ensemble cast, the film was based on the events of the Battle of Longewala in the Indo-Pak war of 1971. Although the director faced criticism from some quarters for his biased presentation of historical facts (Indian army faced minimal loss with the loss of two lives), the film was a blockbuster hit.

The film plot traces the heroism of a band of 120 soldiers of the Punjab regiment of the Indian Army headed by Major Kuldip Singh Chandpuri (Sunny Deol) and their all night defense of the Indian post in the Western front of Rajasthan until assistance came from the Indian Air Force the next morning. The film cemented newcomer Akshaye Khanna as one of the most promising star sons. The film also won the ‘National Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration’ from the President of India.

Dutta had conceptualized the movie as a tribute to the immense sacrifice made time and again by the Indian Armed Force. And he had full support of the Indian army who lent him real weapons and ammunition during the filming. Even now, the song “Sandeshe Ate Hain” is played regularly in every Indian Army celebration.

Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001)

The year 2001 saw the release of two films which made history in Indian cinema for their own reasons, and both find mention in this list. First up is Gadar: Ek Prem Katha; the plot revolves around the love story of Tara Singh (Sunny Deol), a Sikh truck driver and Sakina (Ameesha Patel), a Muslim girl belonging to an aristocratic family. The protagonists’ stories unfold against the background of the partition of India and the Sikh/Hindu and Muslim massacre that went with it.

Although it had its share of jingoism and pop nationalism, the film did show the after effects of the partition and the dilemma of the common man whose loyalty towards a nation was to be judged by his religious belief. The film proved to be the biggest hit of Sunny Deol’s long career and is the fourth highest grossing Hindi movies of all time.
Interestingly, Gadar: Ek Prem Katha was set up for a clash at the box office with Amir Khan’s first home production Lagaan. Industry traders were skeptical about the audiences’ reaction towards two movies with patriotic themes. But, the overwhelming support of cine goers towards both these movies put such fears to rest.

Lagaan (2001)

Aamir Khan’s first home production was an ambitious one. The script required a mixture of Indian and international actors and a dry arid agricultural location, finally Bhuj in Gujarat’s Kutch district was selected. The script also demanded that the film had a mixture of Avadhi (for the farmers) and Hindi/English (for the Britishers) dialogues. But the cast, crew and the producers’ completely backed director Ashutosh Gowariker and a new chapter was written in Indian Cinema, a chapter which celebrated the power of a good script above everything else.

Set in the British Raj, the film is narrated in flashback by the “Sutradhar” (Amitabh Bachchan) and tells the tale of how a bunch of peasants led by Bhuvan (Aamir Khan) defeated the Britishers in a game of cricket and saved their village from three years taxation by the British Government. All native experiences were woven into the fabric of the script. So you have the crippling land taxes, the endless wait for the monsoons, the impoverished peasants, the fascination with the “English” game of cricket and finally the win of the underdogs over the white man in their very own game.

The film had a World Premiere at the 2001 IIFA Weekend in Sun City, South Africa and opened to tremendous Indian and international response. It was the first Indian film to have a nationwide release in China. The film won 7 National Awards and 10 IIFA Awards and also got nominated for the 2002 Academy Awards under the category “Best Foreign Language Film”.

Lakshya (2004)

Lakshya is essentially the coming of age story of a young man set against the Indian Army’s attack on the Tiger Hills during the Kargil conflicts between India and Pakistan. Penned by Javed Akhtar and directed by his son Farhan Akhtar, Lakshya tells the story of Karan (Hrithik Roshan), a product of his generation, directionless and confused, and how a stint at the Indian Military Academy helps him find his focus in life. The film traces his growth from a confused kid to a mature officer culminating in his mission to recapture an Indian post after scaling 1000-ft wall of rock and attacking the enemy stronghold from behind during the night.

The film also stars Priety Zinta in a role which had similarity to journalist Barkha Dutt who had reported the Kargil conflict for the erstwhile Star News network. Most of the film’s shooting was done in Leh and Ladakh under extremely trying conditions with Hrithik Roshan having to go in for training to fit his role as an Army official. Lakshya was a turning point in Indian cinema. For a movie dealing with the events of the Kargil war, there was no jingoism or pop nationalism in the film. Instead, it focused on how the youth of today dealt with the concepts of nationalism and freedom, when faced with the immediate realities of war in their lives. This fascination from the youth’s point of view would be explored at length by by Rakesyh Mehra in “Rang De Basanti”.

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero (2005)

Shyam Benegal’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero tells a tale of a freedom fighter who has always held an ambiguous position in our national history. Probably the most contentious figure in our struggle of freedom, Bose’s life and death has always been surrounded by controversy. The film starts as a flashback and attempts to reconstruct his life during the 30’s and the 40’s starting from his resignation as the president of the Indian National Congress (I.N.C.) and his subsequent attempts to form a revolutionary Army to oust the British.

With Sachin Khedekar playing the main lead, the film is almost a biopic delving into his romantic relationship with his German secretary, his meeting with Adolf Hitler and ends with a radio announcement of his death. Historically, Bose’s ways of raising support for an armed struggle earned him quite a bit of notoriety. The film does not whitewash these facts, but shows that it was patriotism and love for his mother nation that made him follow the unorthodox means of accepting support from Germany and Japan. A long time in the making, the film also had U-Boat (Deutsche: ‘Untersee Boat’) submarine scenes. Although not one of the most successful films on nationalism, it did succeed in reminding the audience that the struggle for Independence did have heroes other than the Nehrus and the Gandhis.

Rand De Basanti (2006)
Range De Basanti was a film born from Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra belief that the sense of “patriotism had blurred” in the young generation. And from that perspective he wrote about a script which dealt with the modern youth of India played by Aamir Khan, Siddharth, Sharman Joshi, Kunal Kapoor and Soha Ali Khan. Products of their generation, none of these characters have any concept of the immense sacrifice made by their fellow Indians to secure their independence. Political freedom is something that they take for granted. All this changes when struggling British film maker Sue (Alice Patten) comes to India to film a documentary based on her grandfather’s diary.

The diary deals with the Indian revolutionary movement led by Chandrasekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru, Ashfaqulla Khan, and Ram Prasad Bismil. She convinces Aamir and gang to play the parts for her documentary and while essaying the characters, the idealism of India’s revolutionary heroes seeps into the protagonists. They start identifying with the characters they portray in Sue’s film and realize that the state of affairs that once plagued the revolutionaries continues to torment their generation. The controversy of importing cheap MiG-21 aircraft spare parts is woven into the script with the death of Flight Lieutenant Ajay Singh Rathod (R. Madhavan), Soha’s fiancé is killed in a flight crash.

This film touched the chords of the youth of India had an immense social effect. For the first time, the issue of freedom and the apathetic political situation was shown from their perspective. The film could also be seen as a comeback for music maestro A.R. Rehman who hadn’t had a hit since 2002’s “Saathiya”. The ease with which the 40 year old played the part of a 20 year old proved beyond doubt that Aamir could mould himself into any role, thus being a true “actor” instead of just a “star”. All other actors including Sharman, Kunal, Atul Kulkarni and Siddharth also received great reviews for their work.

Each of the films which finds a mention in this list shows how every director and actor brings something new to the table. Everyone’s personal perspective colours how they see their own national history and that affects their creative vision as well.
Although its difficult to include every film made in the spirit of patriotism, we hope that this list is at least indicative enough of the great tradition of cinematic tradition that Indian cinema has to offer.