Historical films: A burst of patriotic fervour

India Today

30-04-2025

(NOTE: This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated May 5, 2025)For the past few years, all Nikkhil Advani has been doing is directing dhoti-kurta-clad men rallying for freedom. He doesn't mind being labelled the chief chronicler of India's colonial history. It started with SonyLIV's Freedom at Midnight (2024-) whose second season will drop later this year, and continues with Amazon Prime series Revolutionaries, which he is currently shooting. 'History fascinates me, especially this period. We cannot erase history. We should allow people to understand it and not take it for granted,' Advani says, as he gets ready for a night shift of Revolutionaries unfolding on a sprawling set in Madh Island in Mumbai. If Freedom at Midnight captured how India's greatest leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel banded together for India's independence, Revolutionaries, Advani says, centres on a group of young boys with a more straightforward mission—'We will not ask them [the British] to leave, we will just throw them out.'advertisement
Kesari Chapter 2 (2025)
advertisementAdvani is not alone in mining India's colonial past for inspiration. Others, too, are focusing their lens on pivotal events and figures of the era. Recently, Ram Madhvani directed The Waking of a Nation (also on SonyLIV), a courtroom drama that documents the events leading up to the Jallianwala Bagh killings and follows one man's pursuit of truth and justice in its aftermath. Akshay Kumar's Kesari Chapter 2 revisits the same incident, but tells it through the eyes of lawyer C. Sankaran Nair, 'the forgotten hero' who 'dared to take on the British Empire'. Akshay plays Nair in the film, which has been in the news as BJP leaders target the Congress for ignoring Nair's contribution despite him being a former president of the INC (Indian National Congress). Later this year arrives Hansal Mehta's epic Gandhi, featuring Pratik Gandhi in the titular role. Rumour has it that a leading streaming platform has acquired the rights to the show. This spate of stories suggests that filmmakers are keen to take ownership of a troubling period of Indian history and revisit it with a fresh perspective. Through their work, they are acquainting viewers with events that deserve in-depth examination and the unsung heroes who merit recognition.
For Saugata Mukherjee, head of content at SonyLIV, the platform behind Rocket Boys, Freedom at Midnight and The Waking of a Nation, the ambitious dramas are completely aligned with their goal to 'tell the big stories of India' and fill the gaping void in the Indian narrative landscape. 'I don't think we have mined and celebrated our history enough,' he says. 'We have a treasure trove of forgotten stories. It's important for makers, writers, studios and platforms to find them. But they need to tell them in a fashion that is contemporary, entertaining, and doesn't become so niche that people stop watching history.'
Historicals are by no means easy to make or view. Ask Advani, who is in the midst of directing hundreds of extras in Revolutionaries and overseeing edits of Freedom at Midnight, season two. Research is pivotal to the making of these shows, and the budgets are big, since locales, sets and costumes have to be authentic. The challenge is to imagine how these national icons would speak and behave; there is only so much creative licence you can take without the risk of offending public sentiment. Still, Advani found a way to make Revolutionaries different from Freedom at Midnight. 'I'm treating it like Gangs of Wasseypur meets Inglourious Basterds,' he says, as he focuses on youth like Kartar Singh Sarabha and Ras Behari Bose, who revolted against the British Raj. 'The idea is to have fun with history.' And also to expose the younger generation to figures beyond the ones in school textbooks or popular cinema. Think Bhagat Singh, Mangal Pandey, Udham Singh or Jhansi ki Rani.For others, delving into the past is more than just reviving forgotten heroes or recounting colonial atrocities. The Waking of a Nation, says Madhvani, was also a way to examine how racism and prejudice were fundamental to the British colonising project. 'The idea that you cannot actually rule yourself... how did we believe that and let it happen?' asks Madhvani. 'We got brainwashed.' Given an opportunity, Madhvani would continue The Waking of a Nation series by looking at another defining moment in India's freedom struggle—the Revolt of 1857. He is particularly interested in the Peel Commission that was appointed to investigate the mutiny.advertisement
Shedding light on lesser-known heroes was also the impulse behind Kesari Chapter 2, Karan Singh Tyagi's directorial debut. A student of law and politics, Tyagi was deeply moved by The Case that Shook the Empire, a book by C. Sankaran Nair's great-grandson Raghu Palat and his wife Pushpa. 'Sankaran Nair was knighted by the British Empire and resigned from the council [after the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy],' Tyagi said in a statement to the press. 'For him to then take on the British in the most dramatic of ways is a story of valour.' Among the triggers, Tyagi said, was watching a documentary by General Dyer's great-granddaughter, in which she defends his actions and calls the assembled gathering 'looters'. 'That interview really angered me,' Tyagi said. 'Kesari 2 is important because you'll be shocked to know that the empire went into overdrive after the massacre, going to extreme lengths in order to laud General Dyer as a hero.'advertisement
The waking of a nation (2025)
Feature films set in the colonial era have been made before. But they have either been biopics or entertaining spectacles like Lagaan or RRR. When it comes to Gandhi, it's still the Richard Attenborough production, a predominantly English-language feature, which remains the reference point. Will Hansal Mehta and Applause Entertainment's Gandhi change that and finally give Indian audiences a local story celebrating their greatest leader?'The world needs Gandhi now more than any other time,' Pratik Gandhi had told India Today last year while shooting the show. 'We have taken him for granted and there's a generation that's understanding him very weirdly and differently. It is very easy to criticise him. The beautiful thing is Gandhi let people judge him. He had the guts to reveal his flaws and mistakes.' The film aims to tell the story of the man that was Gandhi, more than the Mahatma.advertisement
And even as Advani embarks on the 'crazy adventure' that is Revolutionaries, which follows the youngsters who were part of the Ghadar movement, he clarifies that it wasn't a calculated move to become a genre specialist. He admits that these are time-consuming exercises and carry tremendous responsibility, but he wouldn't have it any other way. 'I like to tell stories of nation-building and non-jingoistic patriotism,' he says. It is a worthy endeavour.Subscribe to India Today Magazine