“History books follow British narratives—our films show the truth!” This hard fact had been reaffirmed by Akshay Kumar at the Delhi launch of the trailer of Kesari Chapter 2: The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh. On April 11, the Mumbai launch was marked by statements from the team and queries from the media that culminated in a tirade against the British and a demand for an apology from the British about India’s greatest genocide on Baisakhi (Punjabi New Year, 1919) in Amritsar. This is when General Dyer kept on firing 1650 rounds (until ammunition ran out) at an estimated crowd of over 3000 that killed about half that number and left several more seriously injured.
Though the victims included women and children, who had assembled in Jallianwala Bagh only to celebrate Baisakhi, Dyer labeled all as “terrorists” and the British government then and until now has never apologized, though a few Britishers have individually expressed “deep regrets”. Recently, Dyer’s granddaughter had defended the genocide, calling the victims “looters”. Co-producer Karan Johar regretted about how someone can be so bereft of humanity.
At the trailer launch, however, Akshay Kumar revealed that Simon Paisley Day, who plays the role of General Reginal Dyer and is an Englishman, was shocked when he heard the true stories, and a female member of the team, also a Britisher, was in tears.
The film is based on the book, The Case That Shook The Empire by Raghu Palat, Nair’s great-grandson and Pushpa Palat, his journalist wife. Present at the launch besides Akshay were producers Karan Johar and Apoorva Mehta, director and co-writer Karan Singh Tyagi and a saree-clad Ananya Panday. Tyagi, it was revealed by the actor, is a lawyer by qualification, and he was inspired by the story enough to want to make his first film from it.
When I asked Tyagi what was the fiery character of R. Madhavan all about (as the actor was not present but was prominent in the hard-hitting trailer), he revealed that he was the foxy and very fierce representative of the Crown pitted in court against C. Sankaran Nair (played by Akshay Kumar), the lawyer and politician who fought the case for India. When I wondered if his character even showed regret later, Tyagi and Johar both smiled and said that I would have to watch to see what happened in the movie, which releases April 18, to time with the Baisakhi festival that falls on April 13.
“Various stories of valor and bravery of unsung heroes are there in the archives of history, which haven’t been portrayed on celluloid,” said Johar. “There are few stories that came to my table to which I immediately reacted. The first such film was Raazi. I still remember this great story of Sehmat, who actually fought an unsung battle. It went on to prove that true stories resonate so well with the audience globally. Then came Kesari and then this absolutely outstanding story of C. Sankaran Nair, a man who almost ruined the reputation of the Crown. That terrifying incident still makes us feel the anger and the pain. There isn’t an apology even now! We as a nation deserve an apology, and this film demands it!”
Tyagi said that it was important to be sensitive to what had happened then. He said, “The crowd assembled to celebrate Baisakhi and something else took place. The film, for me, is for honoring their sacrifice, and that of C. Sankaran Nair.”
The film had a special meaning for him, added Kumar, who belongs to Amritsar, and his grandfather, who was alive then, had shared stories with the actor’s late father, who in turn had shared them with him. “When Tyagi came to me with the script, I knew I had to do the film,” said the actor.
Ananya Panday added that her reaction when she first heard the script was “very visceral and emotional!” She declared that the younger generation took freedom very lightly, unaware of the massive sacrifices that won us Independence.
The film had been originally titled Shankara but was soon fitted in as a spiritual successor to Kesari.
(Used with permission from NIT)
