‘Sacrifice, passion make Bhagat Singh’s story iconic’

In the opening montage of Rang De Basanti, the character of Bhagat Singh (played by Siddharth) tells the jailor – “Humare baad aur bhi aayenge” – as he heads for the gallows. Talking about this line, director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra writes in his book, “I used to wonder what made these young guns drop their aimlessness and give their life for the country!” Over the years, the legend of Bhagat Singh has continued to inspire filmmakers. Manoj Kumar’s Shaheed (1965) was one of the first films to be made on the revolutionary’s life, and many have followed in these footsteps, though not always with the same commercial success. On Shaheed Diwas (March 23) writers and film historians explain the appeal that this character holds.'Every generation wants to interpret their version of this hero'Film historian Gautam Chintamani says, “The character of Bhagat Singh became iconic in Hindi cinema because there is a lot of romanticism - sacrifice, enthusiasm, passion - that comes into play while portraying his character on the big screen. Bhagat Singh is an ideal and classic hero for cinema - he has passion for his motherland, is a revolutionary and sacrifices his life at a young age. Every generation wants to interpret their version of this hero, and that's why there have been more films on him than any other freedom fighter."Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, filmmaker and archivist, adds, “So many actors and filmmakers have been inspired by Bhagat Singh as he was a fearless revolutionary who fought for the country’s freedom against a colonial regime and who staked his life on the courage of his convictions. Bhagat Singh is also a symbol for the fight against oppression. Several filmmakers have been drawn to capture a life story that had so much emotion and drama. In fact, his portrayal in cinema has inspired characters like the ‘angry young man’ in so many different avatars. ”My preparation for the role involved reading a lot of material written by Bhagat Singh and about him: Amol Parashar, who played the role of Bhagat Singh in Sardar UdhamAmol says,"My preparation for the role involved reading a lot of material written by Bhagat Singh and about him. Shoojit Sir had a lot of clarity about what he wanted to achieve through this depiction, one of the things being that he wanted to capture his youthful passion and effervescence. When you read his writings, the charisma and intelligence shines through his words. One particular letter I read was an epiphanic entry into the brilliant mind of Bhagat Singh. This was a letter that he wrote to his father while he was on death row, in which he respectfully chides his father for writing a mercy petition. He knew what his court case and death would mean for the nation, the kind of fervour that was building around his hanging and he tells his father to forget about his ‘fatherly love’ and look at the ‘bigger picture’. It was so straightforward, sharp and clear, and written by a 23 year old, the letter moved me to tears. No wonder he was and still continues to be among one of the most legendary figures in South Asian history."I wanted to remove the misconceptions related to Bhagat Singh and present his ideologies and politics: Anjum Rajabali, writer, The Legend of Bhagat SinghAjay Devgn received the National Film Award for Best Actor for The Legend of Bhagat Singh. However, writer Anjum Rajabali says that when Rajkumar Santoshi approached him to write the script for the movie, initially, he refused it, but agreed later after reading up on the legend.Anjum Rajabali says, “Popular Hindi cinema has not been much interested in Bhagat Singh's intellect. The charm of Bhagat Singh for popular cinema is that of a young man sacrificing his life who believed in direct action and threw a bomb in the National Assembly, and so there is action and drama. When I read about Bhagat Singh, I found that he was an extremely intelligent person with a deep understanding of politics and history, and he was an idealist who was ready to give up his life for his ideas. Through The Legend Of Bhagat Singh, I wanted to bring out his views, politics and ideas of nation-building. He has written extensively about socialism, equality, justice, secularism at such a young age. I wanted to remove this misconception that Bhagat Singh was someone who was trigger-happy. Did I succeed in doing it? No. While the film was well-positioned in terms of Bhagat Singh's politics and history, I don't think the film had an emotional grip. If we talk only about emotional grip, then Shaheed succeeded on that front.”In Rang De Basanti, we revisited the script with a current take - what if those young guns of India were to be born again: Kamlesh Pandey, writer, Rang De BasantiRang De Basanti writer Kamlesh Pandey told us (in 2019), “I was fascinated with the character of Bhagat Singh. I wrote a script titled 'The Young Guns of India' and took it to Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. Rakeysh liked the script, but when we did our research with a sample audience, the results were discouraging. A few years later, we revisited the script with a current take: What if those young guns of India were to be born again? And from there we started Rang De Basanti. We based the story of Rang De Basanti in Delhi, because the story could not have been set anywhere else in the country because we thought “where else in the country students are as politically active as they are in Delhi?”It took over four years' research to prepare for the role of Bhagat Singh in Shaheed: Manoj KumarManoj Kumar who starred in Shaheed once said in an interview, “My producer visited Bhagat Singh's village in Punjab and got inspired to make a film on him. We also met Batukeshwar Dutt, who threw a bomb at the Assembly along with Bhagat Singh. It took over four years' research to prepare for the role of Shaheed Bhagat Singh. When the movie received three National Film Awards, it felt like a validation that the documentation was correct.”