Happy Independence Day: Five must watch patriotic Tamil films

It’s that time of the year when we decorate buildings with national flags. August 15th is a matter of pride and valour for Indians. The story of how veteran leaders fought against the British tyranny has been a common theme that has inspired filmmakers to depict the freedom struggle in cinema. Over the years, a lot of films in Indian cinema has explored the freedom movement. As we celebrate the 71st Independence Day today, here are some of the Tamil films that instilled patriotism.

‘Veerapandiya Kattabomman’ was one of the earliest films that reeked of patriotism. A biopic on the famous freedom fighter Veerapandiya Kattabomman, the film saw legendary actor Sivaji Ganesan playing the titular role. Set in 18th century, the inspiring tale of Veerapandiya Kattabomman became a recurring theme in stage plays and dramas. He is known for fighting against the British East India Company and said to have waged war with them. It was one of the most expensive Tamil films at that time, which went on to become a blockbuster at the box-office. ‘Veerapandiya Kattabomman’ was unanimously appreciated for Sivaji Ganesan’s stellar performance in the lead role. In fact, the scene where he confronts Jackson Durai became one of the iconic scenes in Tamil cinema.

‘Indian’ is arguably one of the best films that depicted the freedom struggle. The film saw Haasan playing the role of a freedom fighter named Senapathi, which was written after Subhash Chandra Bose. Written by famous writer Sujatha, ‘Indian’ talked about a freedom fighter’s anguish over the corrupt system in India. He tries to do away the corruption. Kamal Haasan played dual roles -- Senapathi and his son Chandru. Both Shankar and Sujatha were highly lauded for coming up with such a powerful script. Made on a lavish budget, ‘Indian’ got rave reviews from critics, who appreciated the subject and Haasan’s performance. In fact, Haasan won his third National Award for Best Actor. ‘Indian’ opened to phenomenal response and became a monstrous hit at the box-office. In fact, ‘Indian’ became the first Tamil film to have been a blockbuster in Hindi, Telugu and Kannada languages.

The premise of ‘Roja’ talked about the sensitive Kashmir issue. Mani Ratnam had reportedly revealed that the inspiration for ‘Roja’ was from a news article. ‘Roja’ is about a village girl Roja (Madhubala), who gets married to a cryptographer Rishi (Arvind Swami). Things take a turn, when the militants in Kashmir take Rishi as their hostage. It tells the story from Roja’s point of view and her struggle to get back her husband. Academy Award winner AR Rahman made his cinematic debut with ‘Roja’. Upon release, the film opened to rave reviews and has won several national and international awards. ‘Roja’ marked the first film in the war trilogy that ended with ‘Dil Se’. Even after all these years, ‘Roja’ is still remembered for the scene, where Arvind Swami throws himself on the national flag, when militant tries to burn it.

‘Kaalapani’, which was dubbed in Tamil as ‘Siraichalai’ spoke about the freedom fighters, who were arrested and tortured by the British Raj. ‘Siraichalai’ is about Govindan (Mohanlal), who has been sent to spend the rest of his lives at Andaman jail, where he befriends another fellow prisoner Mukund (Prabhu). The rest of the story is about how these two prisoners plot a plan to escape the jail. Made on a lavish budget, ‘Siraichalai’ won several State and National Awards. Even today, the film is widely popular for the scenes inside the prison. Directed by the National Award-winning filmmaker Priyadarshan, ‘Siraichalai’ also depicted the amount of torture endured by the freedom fighters just so we could attain ‘Azhadi’ at some point. Maestro Ilaiyaraaja was in charge of the music department.

Directed by AL Vijay, ‘Madrasapattinam’ is a period drama that is set in pre-Independence era. The film focuses on a Tamil launderer Parithi (Arya), who falls in love with a British woman Amy/Duraiammal (Amy Jackson). Through Parithi and Amy, we get to see the freedom struggle and what happens to the couple post Independence. Apart from Arya and Amy Jackson, the film also stars Nassar, Cochin Hanifa and Alexx O'Nell playing other prominent roles. Upon release, ‘Madrasapattinam’ became an out-and-out money spinner at the box-office and was nominated for several awards as well. The film also casually mentions the names of the veteran Tamil leaders who participated in the freedom struggle. ‘Madrasapattinam’ was highly appreciated for its authentic depiction of Madras province.