The
Legend of Bhagat Singh
The
hype and hoopla surrounding the several ventures on this great freedom fighter
was intense. Finally, the dust settled and there was really only one
version that went anywhere with the masses. This was the version of
Rajkumar Santoshi, who has some excellent films to his credit, starring Ajay
Devgan.
Apparently a lot of research went into
the writing of the script and the credits thank the contribution of Bhagat
Singh’s brother. The movie is
quite intense and a moving experience. Parents
are cautioned that the movie does get violent in parts. The life of Bhagat Singh remains an enigma to many even after
several years of independence. Bhagat
Singh was in his early twenties when he was hanged and the movie portrays the
visionary Bhagat Singh was even at such a young age.
The Jalianwalla Bagh massacre deeply
influenced him as a child, so much that this child plunged headlong in
participating in Gandhiji’s call for non-co-operation.
Gandhiji’s then called off the Non-co-operation movement after the
Chaurichura incident. This action
of Gandhi deeply hurt the young Bhagat. This
feeling of resentment almost instilled the ideology in Bhagat Singh that
non-violence was not the appropriate path in obtaining India’s freedom.
The film painstakingly goes through the different influences in Bhagat
Singh’s life, including his association with another freedom fighter
Chandrashekar Azad.
To his credit, Rajkumar Santoshi has
bought out the pain and suffering us Indians went through those trying times.
He has been able to successfully depict Bhagat Singh’s ideology and the
visionary that he was. The
pain and suffering a family goes through has been shown very well.
The scenes between Bhagat Singh and his family are really touching.
His casting too, is excellent and every actor has truly lived his
character.
The cinematography and all other technical departments add life to the
narrative. A. R. Rahman’s music
has a patriotic feel to it and the background music is particularly impressive.
The sore points, in my humble opinion were the inclusion of the romantic
song and the distorted portrayal of Gandhiji.
The movie almost depicts Gandhiji as the villain and not the British.
I wish Santoshi had delved just a bit into why Gandhiji did the things he
did at that time.
Last but not the least, one cannot forget the performances.
Ajay Devgan in my opinion has given a performance of a life time.
He brings life and vigor into the character. His fiery eyes portray the very essence of Bhagat Singh.
Kudos to Rajkumar Santoshi & his team for recreating a piece of
history. I think the movie would
have fared much better at the turnstiles, if not for the over abundance of
movies on the same subject.
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