Tragic tale lives on...

Mona

Bloodbath at Jallianwala Bagh, exactly a hundred years ago, is still a scar that is yet to heal. The massacre, which fetched British Prime Minister Therasa May’s regret close to its centenary, has been a painful backdrop for many films based on the freedom struggle. 

Revenge as leitmotif

Gulzar’s play Jallianwala Bagh (1977)’ had Parikshat Sahni play Udham Singh while Rajkumar Santoshi’s The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002) also had the tragedy as the backdrop. For young Bhagat Singh, it became a turning point in life. This film, which won two national awards, had Ajay Devgn take home the Best Actor award. The same year also had Guddu Dhanoa-directed 23rd March 1931: Shaheed (2002), which had Bobby Deol play the fearless Bhagat Singh 

Looking back

Chandrashekhar Azad, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Ashfaqullah Khan and Ramprasad Bismil will be heroes forever. The film Rang De Basanti (2006) has the Jallianwala Bagh’ tragedy in the backdrop; young students enact heroes of the freedom movement with Amir Khan, Siddharth Narayan, Sharman Joshi, Kunal Kapoor and Atul Kulkarni in the role of revolutionaries.

Memories remain

As many as 1,650 rounds shot on an unarmed crowd killed 1,500 and left hundreds injured; each of those who died had families waiting at home. The movie Phillauri (2017) puts forth such a fictional account. The day didn’t end with lives lost, but their families carried the burden across years. The film, which had Diljit Dosanjh and Anushka Sharma in the lead roles, was shot at the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial. 

Freedom narrative

British filmmaker Richard Attenborough brought Gandhi’s life alive on silver screen in 1982, with Ben Kingsley taking on the titular role and Edward Fox playing the role of General Dyer. 

The subject is still open to screen adaptations. In fact, in its centenary year, Abhinesh Appukuttan-directed Malayalam movie starring Shalu Rahim, Anwar Shereef and Tom Emmatty, named Jallianwala Bagh, is due to release in June 2019.

Sonu pays a tribute 

“Jallianwala Bagh is the most tragic incident in the history of Indian freedom struggle,” says actor Sonu Sood, who played Bhagat Singh in Shaahed-E-Azam. His ties with Amritsar date back to his childhood, “We visited Amritsar often as kids and Jallianwala Bagh was always on the itinerary. To see those bullet marks on the wall and to imagine the scenario when people jumped into the well to save themselves from bullets always filled one with anguish.” While researching for his role in Shaahed-E-Azam, he read lots of books, but the real essence of it came from his mother, a professor in history.  “The Jallianwala Bagh tragedy that must be told and retold to every new generation, in mediums they connect with. We should be indebted to our freedom fighters, who willingly sacrificed their lives so that we could breathe free.”    

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