War Movie of India: Haqeeqat (1964)

Haqeeqat, full of patriotic zeal, is the first realistic portrayal of war in Indian cinema. There had been numerous historical films made earlier that had well-executed battle scenes. But Haqeeqat deglamourised war as it showed that not everybody returns from war triumphant. The film bolstered the confidence of a country that was still reeling from the setback of humiliating defeat at the hands of China. A war movie that demonstrated to the world the infirmity of doctrine of Panchsheel without a powerful and equipped armoury to back it. A watershed in modern Indian history, this war virtually broke Nehru’s heart to such an extent that he never recovered from that and died soon after. The movie was dedicated to Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru and all those soldiers who laid down their lives fighting against the aggressors. This was not a pacifistic masterpiece that showed the horrors and brutalities of war to a curious audience but its scalpel-scarp indictment of the pride that comes with battle. The song ‘Kar Chale Hum Fida Jaan-o-Tan Saathiyo..’ (Mohd. Rafi) has become synonymous with patriotism in India.

Haqeeqat scripted on the ‘1962 Sino-Indian War’ saga, was written, produced and directed by Chetan Anand. The film was based on the fierce battle fought in Rezang la by Charlie battalion lead by Major Shaitan Singh. Most of the soldiers of Charlie battalion belonged to Rewari and of Yadav community. The combat was Benoite to Benoite and the Indian battalion fought valiantly. This painful saga concludes with the platoon reaching its base after losing many of its members during the retreat. This is the story of the great sons of motherland who were sent to be the sacrificial lambs for the great Chinese feast. The selfish and insensitive politicians and bureaucrats could never understand the difficulties faced by the brave soldiers. This is perhaps the most harsh truth (Haqeeqat) of our country.

Chetan Anand’s last two pictures Anjali and Kinare Kinare made a big hole in his pocket. When he planned a movie on conflict between India and treacherous neighbour China, no distributor came forward to advance money on this project. Through a well wisher, he met the then chief minister of Punjab, Sardar Pratap Singh Kairon, and narrated him the plot of Haqeeqat. Kairon was so much impressed that he immediately promised that Punjab Government shall finance the project. In order to curtail the cost, it was decided to make the movie in black & white.

Chetan Anand has brilliantly woven drama and history together on his cinematic canvas. The script is well-knitted, several scenes can be considered as real gems. In spite of being asthmatic, he was always the first to climb any hill from where the camera angles were set. A hillock near Leh now bears the name of Haqeeqat Hill.  There were poignant moments and several touching moments. The rape-scene of Angmo as a part of her torture, has been shown on the screen in an indirect and subtle way.

There were laudable performances by an ensemble cast which included Vijay Anand, Sanjay Khan, Mac Mohan, Sudhir, Bhupinder, Johnny Bakshi, and Rakesh Kumar among others. Dharmendra’s charisma is undeniable, as he matches veterans Jayant and Balraj Sahni. Priya Rajvansh, specially brought down from London, debuted through this movie. Chetan Anand gave Bhupindra the coveted break as a singer and an actor. He played the character of an army wireless officer in this magnum opus. While Indrani Mukherjee, Achala Sachdev and Shaukat Azmi have little precious roles.

Madan Mohan’s poignant score and Kaifi Azmi’s lyrics struck a chord with unforgettable compositions. The immortal 'Kar Chale Hum Fida Jaan-o-tan Saathiyo..' undoubtedly still rouse the fires of patriotism like none other. 'Hoke Majboor Mujhe Usne Bhulaya Hoga..' each stanza is a tear-jerker in itself. The main strength of the film is its rugged landscape and authentic battle scenes shot by cinematographer Sadanand Sengupta with fierce realism.

This absolute realistic war movie can be compared to any international war movie in the league of ‘All Quiet at the Western Front’. The movie when released was critically acclaimed and was a big hit with a whopping collections of Rs1. 25crore. It won the National Film Award for Second Best Feature Film in 1965. The film also won Filmfare Best Art Direction Award for M. S. Sathyu

Chetan Anand took on ‘Operation Cactus Lilly’ (1971 War) for making another war movie ‘Hindustan Ki Kasam” (1973). It was appreciated for its authentic imagery involving MiG-21s, Gnats and Sukhoi-7s. It revolves around the IAF's mission of destroying a PAF radar which blocks IAF pilots radios in combat.

The war film is a complicated genre and Indian cinema continues to flounder in a love-hate relationship with the war film. Dev Anand’s ‘Hum Dono’ may have more than war on its mind but it's what sets the events in motion after a pair of lookalike soldiers befriend each other during World War-II in Burma. One of the earliest films to shed light on the life of a soldier was Manoj Kumar's Upkar (1967), which set a tone for the idealistic depiction of the soldier in Indian cinema.

A cult James Bond-like espionage thriller, Farz (1967), was Bollywood’s first tryst with the patriotic spy drama laced with populist entertaining aspects. The film inspired a series of such thrillers like Ankhen(1968), Spy in Rome, Humsaya, Shatranj, Yakeen and Keemat. K.A. Abbas tells the heroic story of seven Indians, who attempt to liberate Goa from the Portuguese colonial rule. Lalkaar whipped up an action-packed spectacle about two brothers in love with the same girl while their commitment to the armed forces under British India is tested in warding off Japanese invasion.

During the last two decades, populist films with patriotic themes emerged fairly infrequently depicting the changing shades of patriotism in India. It was Border (1997), which set the tone for patriotism. The similarities of the screenplay and treatment of ‘Border’ owe a lot to Haqeeqat. Border and LOC- Kargil narrated the stories of victories of the Indian army in the wars against Pakistan whereas Haqeeqat narrated the painful saga of retreat after a humiliating defeat suffered by India. This proved that films like Haqeeqat are made but once in a lifetime.

"राह कुर्बानीयो की ना विरान हो... जिंदगी मौत से मिल रही है गले....

आज धरती बनी है दुल्हन साथियो....अब तुम्हारे हवाले वतन साथियो..."