The other Fight for Freedom

Director Kabir Khan's latest offering, The Forgotten Army, an Amazon Prime series, comes with the tagline 'Azadi Ke Liye'. An alumnus of Jamia Millia Islamia University, Khan grew up on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus. His father taught political science there.The question asks itself. What does he make of the several 'azadi' chants that have resounded in campuses across the country to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC)? Khan simply quotes a dialogue from his upcoming show. "Azadi kayam rahne ki jo ladai hai, woh aur bhi mushkil hai, aur woh tumhari ladai hai (The fight to hold on to freedom is tougher, and that's your fight)," he says. "We are making films about people who contributed towards getting that independence. But are we able to maintain it? Are we living in the India they actually dreamed of?"The 'azadi' in the show is, of course, a more straightforward freedom. The Forgotten Army tells the story of how the Indian National Army (INA) fought to end British occupation. After making his documentary debut with a film about the INA, also called The Forgotten Army, Khan says, "I felt there was something that was unsaid and that the story needs to be out there in a wider way."The five-episode series, adds Khan, doesn't just present a haloed portrait of a force that has had its detractors, especially because of alliances with the Imperial Japanese Army and founder Subhas Chandra Bose's meeting with Adolf Hitler. "We are not shying away from the problems," says Khan. "All I am saying is that if you want to judge them, please do, but at least get to know what they did.".preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}What makes the show humane is the perspective of soldiers who broke ranks with the British Indian army to fight against their own. Added to this is the complexity of the relationship between INA and Japanese soldiers. Sunny Kaushal plays Surinder Sodhi, who is a composite of three real INA officers-Gurubaksh Singh Dhillon, Shah Nawaz Khan and Prem Kumar Sahgal. Newcomer Sharvari's character is drawn from Lakshmi Sehgal and Janaki Athi Nahappan. DIRECTOR KABIR KHAN Khan was also keen to present a different account of the INA than the one fed to us by the British. It helped that his research on the INA has been a project that has now lasted 20 years. "We very conveniently consumed the narrative that it [INA] was a bunch of ragtag rebel soldiers who were traitors because they swore allegiance to the [Japanese] Emperor," says Khan. "That British imperialism is more benign than Japanese imperialism is a limited view."According to Khan, The Forgotten Army will also change the perception of Over-the-top (OTT) platform "as the country cousin of films". Khan, who has made big-budget films such as Ek Tha Tiger and Bajrangi Bhaijaan, adds, "In terms of scale and ambition, this web series is bigger than any of my films by miles."Khan will, however, return to the big screen in April with one of the most anticipated titles of 2020-'83. The film revisits the story of India's maiden cricket World Cup win in England. More than the sport, Khan was drawn to what the accomplishment meant to Indians. "It is about the coming of age of a country," he says. "It is a beautiful story of classic underdogs and what they represented, about the idea of India and how this changed the way the world looked at us and how we looked at ourselves."Published By: Prakriti SharmaPublished On: Jan 24, 2020--- ENDS ---

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The other Fight for Freedom

Director Kabir Khan is making history relevant with a new web series about the indian national army.

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