75th Independence Day: “Freedom from the Tyrant British Rule- Role of Indian Cinema”

‘Nation First, Always First’ will be the theme of India’s 75th Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort. The year-long celebrations as ‘Azadi Ka Amrut Mahotsav’ at national and international level will showcase India's achievements of these 75 years. The five pillars for the platinum jubilee celebrations include: Freedom Struggle, Ideas at 75, Achievements at 75, Actions at 75 and Resolve at 75, representing the aspirations of the 130crore Indians.

The freedom we are enjoying today has been bricked over the years by the great patriots. This is an occasion to remember the sacrifices made by millions of Indians to liberate the country from the yoke of British rule. There were leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, Sardar Patel and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, who led the freedom struggle from the front. There were young freedom fighters like Chandrashekhar Azad, Sardar Bhagat Singh, Shivram Rajguru, Sukhdev Thapar, Batukeshwar Dutt and hundreds of unsung heroes and heroines, who gladly sacrificed their lives for breaking the age-old shackles of slavery.

During the freedom struggle, while Indian newspapers both National and vernacular ignited the spark, the patriotic films were instrumental in raising nationalist self-awareness. Indian Cinema’s adoption of patriotic themes happened since its very inception. The contribution made by the film makers has been laudable as they have time and again brought alive some of our famous freedom fighter characters on screen. Some of the movies portrayed the freedom struggle and paid cinematic tributes to the innumerable freedom fighters, while others try to invoke patriotic zeal and pride for the nation.

The filmmakers made patriotic movies in the guise of mythological stories to camouflage the nationalist overtones. A lot of patriotic fervour can be found in the genre of stunt or action films. These were used to portray and glorify the democratic aspirations of the masses. Not only, the titles of films like Azadi, Hind Kesari, Veer Bharat, Baagi Sepahi etc. were provocative but these films also conveyed the hidden message of patriotism.  Generally, the climax scenes in these stunt films witnessed verbal confrontation between protagonist and antagonist in which people’s rights of democracy; good governance, justice and freedom of speech and expression were advocated.

There were many films that secretly aroused the patriotic fervor through their songs, scenes and dialogues. The pioneer Bhalji Pendharkar spent an entire lifetime eulogising Shivaji Maharaj in his works. His film ‘Udaykaal’, caught the eye of the British censor who sensed an attempt to disguise modern day feelings of patriotism with a historical theme and came down heavily on the release of the film. In the mythological ‘Bhakta Vidur’ (1921), the character of Vidur was too closely modelled on Mahatma Gandhi. The British clamped a ban on the film by calling it ‘thinly veiled resume of political events in India.

Sohrab Modi made several intensely patriotic films Pukar (1939), Sikandar (1941) and Prithvi Vallabh (1943) and then came up with his magnum opus Jhansi Ki Rani (1953). A number of filmmakers like V. Shantaram, Master Vinayak, J.B.H. Wadia etc. were also deeply influenced by ideals of Gandhi and they also tried to portray some ideas through the medium of films.

The film 'Mahatma' was renamed as 'Dharmatma' (1935) and was released after deleting many scenes and dialogues not suited to the English masters. The producer of "Imaan Faramosh" was asked to remove the slogan "Inquilab Zindabad" from the film. Despite censorship restrictions, the films like Peshwa Ki Maut, Singhgarh, Vande Mataram, Ashram, Razia Sultan and Sikandar, shook the foundations of British rule.

The highly volatile songs like "Dur Hato Ae Duniya Walon, Hindustan Hamara Hai…" (Kismat-1943) and "Hindustan Ke Hum Hain…" (Pahle Aap-1944) etc. energized the Indian public to raise their voice against the British. “Watan Ki Raah Mein Watan Ke Naujawan Shaheed Ho…” (Shaheed-1948) caught the imagination of a nation just freed from foreign rule. The film itself did not base itself on any specific hero of the freedom struggle but portrayed the quintessential freedom struggle leader in a passionately nationalistic drama about the Quit India movement and the resulting surge in terrorism and sabotage for the sake of Indian independence.

After Independence, Indian film industry became notably poor in making ‘Patriotic’ films. Some film makers produced films based on patriotic themes like Apna Desh (1949), Samadhi (1950), Pehla Admi (1950), Andolan (1951) and Anand Math (1952) etc. almost immediately after independence. Sporadic films like Jhansi Ki Rani, Jagriti, Chhatrapati Shivaji, Haqeeqat, Saat Hindustani, Hindustan Ki Kasam, Border etc. continued to don the Indian film screen. The contribution made by Manoj Kumar mainly as character of “BHARAT” in his patriotic films like Shaheed, Upkaar, Purab Aur Paschim and Kranti etc. carried the flag of patriotism aloft.

Role of Punjabi Cinema

The great sacrifice and courage of Shaheed Bhagat Singh is a symbol of inspiration for the modern youth. Bhagat Singh avenged the assassination of Lala Lajpat Rai and his slogan 'Inquilab Zindabad' echoed from the gallows. Bhagat Singh's uncle and the hero of the “Pagri Sambhal Jatta Movement”, Sardar Ajit Singh, in a huge rally at Lyallpur on March 3, 1907, sang the revolutionary song 'Pagri Sambhal Jatta Pagri Sambhal Oye ..' written by Banke Dayal. The song became so popular that it soon became a symbol and spirit of the national movement. In the year 2002, a total of six films based on the life of Shaheed Bhagat Singh were produced.

The revolutionary song 'Pagari Sambal Jatta ...' has been performed many times in Hindi, Punjabi and other language films. This patriotic song was first introduced in the Punjabi film Gawandi (1942). The song was written by Sohan Lal Sahir and sung by Shiv Dayal Batish and Pandit Amar Nath. In 1960, East and West Movies, Bombay made a film called 'Pagari Sambal Jatta'. Once again, this patriotic hymn was used in the 1974 film Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh. Many other patriotic songs of this film like 'Mera Rang De Basanti Chola ...' and 'Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna Ab Hamare Dil Mein Hai ..' became also popular. In 1992, Iqbal Channa made a film called 'Pagari Sambal Jatta', the title song of which was written by Sant Ram Udasi. Then in the year 2002, producer Iqbal Dhillon made the film 'Shaheed-e-Azam', the title song of which was 'Pagri Sambal Jatta ...' sung by Roop Kumar Rathore.

The song ‘Aithon Ud Ja Bhola Panchhiya’ (Punjabi film Mangti-1942) written by Nand Lal Noorpuri was also a ‘cry for freedom’. Facing the tragedy of the partition of the country, the pain of millions of Punjabis were expressed by Nurpuri through the song 'Ravi Chhad Chale Aan Jhan Chhad Chale Aan ...' (Khedan De Din Char). Kiklee (1964), a film based on the theme of national unity, communal harmony, devotion to the motherland, is the story of a young Punjabi man who took to the battlefield on the eve of his honeymoon to defend the country. In the movie 'Dharti Saadi Maa' (1976), the hero Ranbir leaves his new bride and goes to the border to protect his Mother land. The film 'Dharti Veeran Di' (1965), set against the backdrop of the Indo-Pakistani war, conveyed the message of sacrifice for the country. The war song of the film 'Sassi Punu' (1965) 'Gajde Ne Lal Badal Jang De ..' raised the spirit of patriotism. Joginder Samra made the film 'Khed Preetan Di' (1967) as a tribute to the martyrs of the 1965 war and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.

On April 13, 1919, at Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, General Dyer rained down hundreds of peaceful patriots with machinegun bullets. The young Shaheed Udham Singh had witnessed this holocaust. He cried inside, the fire of revenge was burning inside him like a wild fire. Finally, on March 13, 1940, he avenged by shooting of Michael O'Dwyer in London. Two Punjabi films ‘Shaheed Udham Singh’ in 1977 and 2007, have been produced on the life and work of Shaheed Udham Singh.

There is a need to take the stories of lesser-known freedom fighters to people through Cinema. The courage and patriotism of our great freedom fighters continue to inspire us to work for a prosperous and even stronger India. On this special day, we salute the visionaries of modern India for giving us a thriving multicultural country and its contribution to the entire world.