Cinematic representations of India’s national history have been many to say the least. Be it the lives of freedom fighters, the Indo-Pakistan/Indo-Sino wars, or Nehruvian optimism about nation building, all have provided inspiration to generations of film makers and actors. On the day of India’s 63rd year of Independence, IIFA lists down twelve of Indian Cinema’s big screen efforts to showcase the varied histories of India.
Shaheed (1948)
Ramesh Sehgal’s Shaheed was post-independent India’s first patriotic film release. The film starred Kamini Kaushal, Chandra Mohan, Leena Chitnis and Dilip Kumar who portrayed freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. This was the first time where films celebrating nationalistic sentiments didn’t have to face strict censorship under an alien government rule and Sehgal took full advantage of this scenario. The collective movie going public had tears in their eyes in the scene where Dilip Kumar embraces the hangman’s noose as his wedding garland. The film went on to become a super hit and grossed over Rs. 75, 00,000 (nett) at the box office.
Mother India (1957)
An Indo-Russian co-production, Mehboob Khan’s Mother India did not deal with the struggle of India’s freedom under the British rule instead it sought to create a new symbol of Indian womanhood as the repository of Indian values. In a land where the mother figure is revered as a goddess, Nargis’s character (Radha) who was portrayed as the “mother” of the land struck a chord with the Indian audience. Her character stood for the Indian values of honesty and righteousness, ultimately sacrificing her son (Sunil Dutt) to uphold those very values.
Declared an all time blockbuster, Mother India cemented Nargis’s position as one of the greatest actress’s in Indian cinema. Besides Nargis, the cast included Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Raaj Kumar in male leads. The film was India’s first submission for the Academy Awards under the category of “Best Foreign Film” but lost out on the golden statue by one vote.
Haqeeqat (1964)
Chetan Anand was a war movie veteran of his time, but his Indo-Sino war movie Haqeeqat finds its way into the list because of its very feisty heroine. In war movies it is expected that the hero (Dharmendra in this case) will try to save his country till his last breath, but here you have the hero’s love interest Angmo (Priya Rajvansh) picking up the gun and firing at the Chinese soldiers at point blank range. Ultimately the lead pair dies a bloody death but not before they kill the last of the Chinese invaders thereby saving the country’s borders. The film won the National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film in 1965.
Chetan Anand’s films were always characterized with great music, Haqeeqat was no exception. In fact it has one song which is ingrained in the national psyche as one of the greatest paean to Indian nationhood – Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo.
Upkaar (1967)
Even after more than 40 years of its release, Manoj Kumar’s magnum opus Upkaar is still regarded by many as one of the finest cinematic examples of nation building. The story goes that then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri had asked the actor who had already created a screen image for himself as a patriotic hero to make a film glorifying the Indian farmer and the Indian soldier.
Released just after the Indo – Pakistan war of 1965, the film rode on the rising national sentiments of Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan (hail the soldier and hail the farmer). In the first part of the movie, we see Manoj Kumar as a happy farmer extolling the virtues of his land in the song Mere Desh Ki Dharti. The significance of this was not lost on the Indian audience as in 1965, the nation had just got started on its plan for food self sufficiency through the Green Revolution which was a matter of great national pride. Later on the hero goes on to volunteer in the Indian Army to save his border from enemy encroachment making him a national hero in the film. Even the heroine (Asha Parekh) plays a progressive doctor advocating family planning.
Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977)
Shatranj Ke Khiladi is considered by many a critic to be one of the finest examples of a film set in a pre-independent India setting due to its attention to detail. Helmed by a stellar director – Satyajit Ray – and based on a short story by famed writer Munshi Premchand, the film casts a critical eye on the apathetic political situation of the state of Oudh and the detachment of India’s ruling class towards their duties. Unlike popular filmography where the villain is always the foreign power, Shatranj Ke Khilari chooses to dwell over the role of the Indian nobility in the decline of the state which led to its annexation by foreign powers.
On the one hand you have the Nawab (Amjad Khan), a connoisseur of art and poetry completely unable to fight the British usurpation of his throne; on the other, you have two nobles (Saeed Jaffrey and Sanjeev Kumar) escaping from Lucknow for the pleasure of a game of chess. Both the main and the parallel story highlight the two fold abandonment of responsibilities towards the state and the family.
The film was nominated for Golden Bear for Best Film at the 28th Berlin International Film Festival.
Kranti (1981)
Kranti can be termed as Manoj ‘Bharat” Kumar’s last patriotic offering where he got to direct his idol Dilip Kumar. The film is based in the years 1825 – 1875 and marks the treachery of the Britishers against the princely states of India. Against this backdrop we have the story of two young men who aim to drive the British out of India by forming a group of revolutionaries.
Kranti put its mark on Indian film lore for a number of reasons. Not only did it have a mega star cast of all the big names: Shashi Kapoor, Hema Malini, Shatrughan Sinha, Parveen Babi, it also marked the comeback of Dilip Kumar after a hiatus of five years, and this was enough to pull the audience to the theaters. The film was a declared a Golden Jubilee hit and was the top grossing Hindi film of the 80s.
