It is 23rd March and is celebrated as the Shaheed Diwas (Day of the martyrs). The day when Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sidhdev, the freedom fighters were hanged by the British administration.
The story of Bhagat SIngh has been an inspiration for generations and has an even contemporary following across the youth of this country. It has inspired Bollywood too time and again which has resulted into some compelling cinema.
Here are a few to ponder and watch in the current scenario.
1 Shaahed-E-Azam is a 2002 Hindi film directed by Sukumar Nair. The film, based upon the life of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, caused some controversy as the Punjab and Haryana High Court issued a notice to the producers calling for a ban of the movie. It was released in 2002. In the same year, two other movies on Bhagat Singh were also released, named 23rd March 1931: Shaheed and The Legend of Bhagat Singh.
2. 23rd March 1931: Shaheed is a 2002 Indian Hindi historical biographical film about Bhagat Singh, directed by Guddu Dhanoa which depicts the events leading up to the hanging of Indian freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and his companions Rajguru and Sukhdev on 23 March 1931. The film stars Bobby Deol as Bhagat Singh, his elder brother Sunny Deol as Chandrashekhar Azad and Amrita Singh in her comeback role as Bhagat Singh’s mother.
3. Shaheed is a 1965 Hindi movie based on Bhagat Singh’s life. One of the most prominent Indian patriotic movies based on the Indian independence movement, it was produced by Kewal Kashyap and directed by S. Ram Sharma and stars Manoj Kumar, Kamini Kaushal, Pran, Iftekhar, Nirupa Roy, Prem Chopra, Madan Puri and Anwar Hussain in lead roles. The music is by Prem Dhawan, with several songs written by freedom fighter Ram Prasad Bismil. Shaheed was the first of Manoj Kumar’s series of patriotic films, followed by the likes of Upkar, Purab Aur Paschim and Kranti.
4. The Legend of Bhagat Singh is a 2002 Indian Hindi-language biographical period film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. The film is about Bhagat Singh, a socialist revolutionary who fought for Indian independence along with fellow members of the Hindustan Republic Association. It features Ajay Devgn as the titular character along with Sushant Singh, D. Santosh and Akhilendra Mishra as the other lead characters. Raj Babbar, Farida Jalal and Amrita Rao play supporting roles. The film chronicles Bhagat’s life from his childhood where he witnesses the Jallianwala Bagh massacre until the day he was hanged to death—23 March 1931.
5. Rang De Basanti (transl. Colour it in saffron; Hindi pronunciation: [ˈrəŋɡ d̪eː bəˈsənt̪i]) is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language drama film written, produced and directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, and co-written by Rensil D’Silva .[4]
The literal meaning of the title is “Paint me with the colours of spring”. It featured an ensemble cast comprising Aamir Khan, Siddharth Narayan, Soha Ali Khan, Kunal Kapoor, Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Atul Kulkarni and British actress Alice Patten in the lead roles. Made on a budget of ₹250 million (US$3.5 million), it was shot in and around New Delhi. Upon release, the film broke all opening box office records in India. It was the highest-grossing film in its opening weekend in India and had the highest opening day collections for a Bollywood film. The film was well received and praised for strong screenplay and dialogues.
The story is about five young men from Delhi whose lives and perceptions change as they act in a documentary film on five revolutionary Indian freedom fighters. Inspired from the freedom fighters, they assassinate the Indian Defence Minister for his act of corruption that was responsible for the death of their friend, an Indian Air Force pilot.
