Raag Desh

The film revolves around Major General Shah Nawaz Khan (Kunal Kapoor), Lt Col Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon (Amit Sadh) and Lt Col Prem Sehgal (Mohit Marwah) of the Indian National Army, who were tried for waging war against the King by the British Government after the trio joined Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's Indian National Army while being prisoners of war.

In an industry obsessed with romance, action and comedy, Tigmanshu Dhulia's choices as a filmmaker really stand out. His latest film is a retelling of one of India's lesser known episodes from the freedom struggle history. Raag Desh recreates the world of Subhash Chandra Bose's INA (Indian National Army) and their rivalry with the British empire and the British governed Indian army. A large part of this film is a court room drama and the rest shows the soldiers' struggles on field. On both accounts, the film creates a detailed and authentic experience. Its not only relevant it is a riveting look back at India's real history.

A well-known but rarely highlighted chapter of the Indian freedom struggle - the Indian National Army (INA) trials of 1945 - gets the full-length treatment in Tigmanshu Dhulia's Raag Desh, produced by Rajya Sabha Television. The result is a riveting, if not exactly exhilarating, epic tale that presents a prudent blend of war, patriotic fervour, expert legal sleights and good old human drama.

The movie tells the untold saga of three INA officers Shahnawaz Khan (Kunal Kapoor), Prem Sahgal (Mohit Marwah) and Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon (Amit Sadh), while following the tribunal of the three at the Red Fort conducted by the British army. They have been accused of murder and mutiny. The question is whether they are national heroes or traitors. However their lives depend on various external factors, biggest of it all is the politics between the British Government and Congress.

Having last directed Bullet Raja in 2013, writer-director Tigmanshu Dhulia brings you his first ever patriotic film, Raag Desh, which is based on the INA Trials that took place in 1946. Known for making raw films, Tigmanshu unfolds the journey of three soldiers who were found guilty of murders. Captain Shah Nawaz Khan (Kunal Kapoor), Captain Gurbaksh Dhillon (Amit Sadh) and Captain P K Sahgal (Mohit Marwah) heads the INA (Azad Hind Fauj) in 1942 which had been founded by Subhash Chandra Bose.

Recently, we have witnessed a host of similar-themed stories in Hindi cinema. Whether it was Dangal/Sultan or MOM/Maatr or Phullu/Padman, stories with the same premise have coincidentally released in the same year, only a few months apart. Another such common subject that is filmmakers' new favourite is that of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and the Indian National Army (INA). The Forgotten Army is finally being remembered and its struggles documented. Kabir Khan and Hansal Mehta are both currently working on web series based on Bose and the INA.

The film deals with the story of the historical Red Fort Trials of 1945 where three Indian National Army. Three INA officers Major General Shah Nawaz Khan, Lt Col Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon and Lt Col Prem Sahgal were court-martialled for allegedly waging war against the British Indian Army between September to 1942 and April 1945 with charges of murder and abetment to murder against them.

We are living in the time of terrific national pride. If your patriotism doesn't reflect in your attitude, your cuisine, your movie-theatre etiquette and your twitter feed, its existence is called into question. And while we jump to conclusions faster than we can say 'India', we often forget the people who fought actual blood-and-bullet wars (as opposed to shouting matches on news shows) to get us where we are today.

In his better films like Haasil and Paan Singh Tomar, Tigmanshu Dhulia ensures he never takes sides. His characters present a narrative and leave it to the audiences to decide if they want to support or oppose their stand. In fact, it's his objectivity that makes Rannvijay Singh and Paan Singh (Irrfan in Haasil and Paan Singh Tomar) memorable characters. He operates within the same boundaries in Raag Desh (a classical Hindutsani raga with patriotic sentiments) as well.

When the subject itself is still so charged and propulsive, and the director is Tigmanshu Dhulia who has such an acute sense of place and context, you expect a great tango of both story and substance from Raag Desh. The film revolves around the creation of Subhash Chandra Bose's Indian National Army, and its short-lived but powerful impact. But it is not what it promises to be: the convincing origin story of one of the most fascinating parts of Indian history, and how the soldiers of the INA, were, in a manner, a fraught bridge between the Indian freedom struggle and the British efforts during the second World War.

Tigmanshu Dhulia's Raag Desh gives us the best Subhas Chandra Bose we have seen at the movies. A brew of well-prepared speeches and lines that seem thought up on his feet, Dhulia's Bose can sound stentorian when saying 'Karo sab nyochavar, bano sab fakir' and also sit in a weighing balance pan with sultry enthusiasm even as gold equivalent to his weight is tipped out by a wealthy patriot as his contribution toward the Indian National Army. Played by Kenny Basumatary, this Bose can both heckle you away with petulance and call you back with adoration.