Not deviated from factual realities around Jallianwala Bagh massacre: 'Kesari Chapter 2' director

Time of India

27-04-2025

Making a film around the
Jallianwala Bagh massacre
was a huge responsibility for first-time director
, who says he has strived to remain true to the tragedy in his movie "
Kesari Chapter 2
" while taking some creative liberties to make its story more relatable to audiences.
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Based on "The Case That Shook The Empire" by Raghu Palat and Pushpa Palat, "Kesari 2" delves into the life of lawyer
C Sankaran Nair
, played by superstar
, and the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
It also features R Madhavan as the British lawyer Neville McKinley and Ananya Panday as Nair's assistant Dilreet Gill.
"With full respect and all humility, I want to say that we were compressing a court case which lasted over months into two hours.
When that happens, you compress timelines, you combine characters. But we were mindful that we were not deviating from the factual realities of Jallianwala Bagh," the filmmaker told PTI in an interview.
"We were not deviating from the fact that the incident of Jallianwala Bagh occurred the way it is depicted in the film. Like, an aeroplane flew over the Bagh to ascertain whether enough people had assembled. Gurkha soldiers were called, and a fake curfew was announced to label people as terrorists," Tyagi added.
The director recalled that when he first read the book, written by Nair's grandson Raghu Palat in 2020, he immediately saw its potential to be adapted into a feature film.
He then began writing the script with his writer-producer friend Amritpal Singh Bindra, who had co-produced Vicky Kaushal-starrer "Bad News" with Karan Johar's Dharma Productions. He then approached Johar to back "Kesari 2".
The historical courtroom drama is a follow-up to Akshay's 2019 hit "Kesari", which was about the Battle of Saragarhi in 1897.
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Asked what's the link between "Kesari" and "Kesari 2", Tyagi said it's the themes of bravery and resilience.
He revealed that the team was earlier toying with titles like "Sankaran Nair versus the Crown", and "Sankaran", but it was Kumar who suggested the movie be called "Kesari 2".
"For me, 'Kesari' stands for the colour of revolution, bravery, and for stories of unsung heroes. The first part of 'Kesari' was about a Sikh battalion fighting invaders, 'Kesari Chapter 2' is about one man fighting the empire.
So, the strand of bravery resonates in both movies," he said.
Tyagi, who earlier served as a writer on acclaimed series "Bandish Bandits" and "Kaalkoot", said he feels "lucky" to have gotten the opportunity to collaborate with Kumar, Madhavan and Panday in his debut movie.
"Akshay sir is as much of a writer on the film as he is an actor. We had extensive script sessions with him where he contributed to every scene. He's asked me 10,000 questions on every scene, he wanted to understand the motivations, and the underlying emotion.
He's been a collaborator," he said.
For the part of Neville McKinley, Tyagi said he wanted an actor who could bring out the nuance, which was necessary for character.
"The character is not out there to defend the crown, he's out there to defeat Sankaran Nair. So, it's a thin line. Maddy sir is such a fantastic actor that he got that nuance spot on," he added.
Tyagi said he decided to cast Panday because the actor's performance in Shakun Batra's "Gehraiyaan".
"There was a very sensitive side to her performance in that film. I wanted somebody who could portray vulnerability and also strength in equal measure. Ananya has done a beautiful job in 'Kesari 2'," he said.
The 39-year-old director said he is "overwhelmed" by the response to "Kesari Chapter 2", which has collected Rs 46.54 crores at the box office since its release on April 18.
He said he has already begun work on his next film, an action drama movie.
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