After delays, Veer Savarkar to premier on Nov 16

mumbai: september 16 holds special significance for singer-composer sudhir phadke. on that day, prime minister atal behari vajpayee, home minister lal krishna advani and other political bigwigs watched mr phadke's reel-life tribute to veer savarkar at the siri fort auditorium in delhi. on november 16, when the film is premiered in mumbai, delhi, nagpur and half a dozen other cities in the country, mr phadke's cup of happiness, so to say, will be full.``i am ready to die now,'' he says while stressing the importance of the event. after all, the making of veer savarkar, was not without its share of controversies. delays and change of directors and actors marked the project's journey to d-day. but now that the film's special screenings have won accolades, mr phadke is fulfilled. ``savarkar was misunderstood throughout his life and even later on- by design or by an accident of history,'' he observes. ``those who did not know savarkar were amazed to learn more about the man who was the only indian to have been refused the degree of a barrister, who was sentenced to two life imprisonments spanning 50 years and who inspired patriots such as subhash chandra bose and madan lal dhingra,'' says mr phadke, who has provided the musical score for the film. after the special screening on september 16, the prime minister stopped by to ask mr phadke, director ved rahi and the honorary chief production controller, prabhakar mone, about the cost of production and contributions for the project. apparently, mr vajpayee had contributed rs 50 lakh- raised during a u.s. tour he undertook as an mp a few years ago - towards the making of the film. ``the union government has now donated rs 1.5 crore,'' according to kulbhushan gupta, who has been mobilising publicity for the film. the film, veer savarkar, has been completed after weathering many storms. mr phadke had to face criticism from certain quarters for the delays, which were not of his making. contributions from within india and abroad took their own time. however, many directors and leading actors later, veer savarkar has received a `u' certificate from the censor board. shailendra gaur depicts the lead role of savarkar. others performers include navni parihar, mrinal kulkarni, pankaj berry, rohitashva gaur, tom alter, bob christo, sunil shende, arun bakshi, supriya karni, madhusudan tamhane and surendra mohan, who has admirably enacted mahatma gandhi's part. the film has been divided into four parts. while the first part deals with savarkar's stay in london and europe, the second part is about his 11-year imprisonment in the andamans. the third part deals with his confinement in ratnagiri- where he met mahatma gandhi - and the stipulation that he keep away from political involvement. the final part dwells on his active political life and india's attainment of freedom. netaji called on him in mumbai during this period. the film has also woven the story of sacrifices made by the savarkar family, which was driven to penury after the british government seized its assets. director ved rahi, who completed the film, first studied the literature on and by savarkar for two years. he read mahatma gandhi's autobiography as well as editorials in young india and the harijan. he also studied savarkar's tome on hindutva. ``i wanted to ensure that no mistake had occurred when the film was made,'' he recalls. ``savarkar was a visionary. he had warned india about the dangers pakistan would pose and of china aggression. he has been proved correct on both counts. but savarkar was dubbed as a religious bigot, a fundamentalist and even a fanatic,'' says mr rahi. sensing the sensitive nature of the theme, the film concludes on august 15, 1947, showing savarkar carrying two flags - the tricolour in one hand and a saffron flag, symbolising hindutva, in the other. the post-independence period, especially his arraignment in the gandhi assassination case, has been avoided for obvious reasons.