Lights-Camera-War.Pdf

Notion Press Media Pvt Ltd No. 50, Chettiyar Agaram Main Road, Vanagaram, Chennai, Tamil Nadu - 600 095 First Published by Notion Press 2021 Copyright © Rammesh 2021 All Rights Reserved. ISBN 978-1-63633-502-5 This book has been published with all efforts taken to make the material error-free after the consent of the author. However, the author and the publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. While every effort has been made to avoid any mistake or omission, this publication is being sold on the condition and understanding that neither the author nor the publishers or printers would be liable in any manner to any person by reason of any mistake or omission in this publication or for any action taken or omitted to be taken or advice rendered or accepted on the basis of this work. For any defect in printing or binding the publishers will be liable only to replace the defective copy by another copy of this work then available. CONTENTS Acknowledgments . 5 Author’s Note . 7 Introduction: India and War Films . 13 How To “Judge” A War Film: Ratings and Clichés . 25 Conventional Wars and India . 31 1. 1950 – Samadhi �� 37 2. 1960 – Usne Kaha Tha . 41 3. 1961 – Hum Dono . 44 4. 1963 – Phool Baney Angaarey . 50 5. 1963 – Ratha Thilagam . 53 6. 1964 – Haqeeqat �� 56 7. 1972 – Lalkar �� 63 8. 1973 – Hindustan ki Kasam �� 67 9. 1975 – Aakraman. 71 10. 1982 – Vijeta . .74 11. 1997 – Border . 78 12. 2003 – LOC Kargil �� 84 13. 2004 – Lakshya �� 89 14. 2005 – Bose: The Forgotten Hero . 93 15. 2008 – Kurukshetra �� 99 16. 2014 – Kya Dili Kya Lahore . 102 1 7. 2015 – Kanche �� 105 18. 2017 – “1971 – Beyond Borders” �� 111 19. 2017 – The Ghazi Attack . .115 20. 2018 – Paltan ��119 2 1. 2018 – Sajjan Singh Rangroot �� 122 22. 2018 – Subedar Joginder Singh . 126 23. 2019 – 72 Hours . 129 24. 2019 – The Great Indian Escape aka Khuley Aasman ki Ore . 131 25. 2020 – Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl �� 135 Honorable Mention . 139 4 Contents Unconventional Wars, Internal Security Operations and India . 145 26. 1992 – Roja �� 150 2 7. 1994 – Droh Kaal/1995 – Kuruthipunal (Tamil) �� 154 28. 1996 – Maachis �� 157 29. 1998 – Theevravadi (Terrorist) �� 161 30. 2000 – Pukar �� 165 3 1. 2003 – Zameen �� 168 32. 2005 – Tango Charlie. 172 33. 2005 – Yahaan ��176 34. 2006 – Keerthi Chakra �� 179 35. 2007 – Mission 90 Days . 182 36. 2010 – Kandahar �� 185 3 7. 2010 – Lamhaa . 188 38. 2010 – Red Alert: The War Within . 191 39. 2019 – Uri . 194 Honorable Mention . 200 Other Wars and Military Life . 205 40. 1973 – Achanak �� 208 4 1. 1990 – Muthina Haara �� 212 42. 1991 – Prahaar . 215 43. 2003 – Dhoop . 220 44. 2004 – Ab Tumhare Hawaley Watan Saathiyon �� 224 45. 2007 – 1971 �� 227 46. 2008 – Shaurya �� 230 4 7. 2009 – Sikandar . 233 48. 2013 – War Chhod na Yaar . 236 49. 2015 – Picket 43 . 240 50. 2018 – Aiyaari . 243 The Future of the Indian War Film . 247 Bibliography . 251 Appendix I: Abbreviations . 253 Appendix II: Ranks In Indian Armed Forces . 261 Appendix III: Indian Gallantry Awards . 263 Notes and References . 265 Index . 285 CONVENTIONAL WARS AND INDIA Most regiments and units of the Indian Army have lineages or histories dating back to the 18th and/or 19th century. The regimental system combined with the British restructuring resulted in the birth of the modern Indian Armed Forces[47] by the early 20th century. The Indian Armed Forces were involved in many wars and campaigns since the time they assumed a centralized structure in the early 20th Century. Starting with World War 1, the Indian Armed Forces have fought in the following conventional wars where the “enemy” forces are clear, follow the “rules of war”, and are covered by the Geneva Convention for treatment of POWs. 1. World War 1 – 1914-1918: Indian troops served in the mass slaughter of the Western Front and fought not only in France but also in East Africa, Mesopotamia (parts of modern-day Iraq and Syria), Palestine, Gallipoli, and even China. The British raised a monument to the martyred Indian soldiers at India Gate in New Delhi, which is now the Amar Jawan Memorial. The role of these Indian soldiers is now slowly emerging – 100 years after The War to End all Wars[48]. By the end of the war, roughly 1.5 million troops, mostly from rural backgrounds, had served in the military of which one million served overseas. Of these one million, approximately 60,000+ died in action. As more interest is generated, surely more books on this once taboo topic will become available. At least one Indian film Sajjan Singh Rangroot has done justice to those soldiers and their participation. Result: Victories in many campaigns and the Indian Army added many battle honors to its history. 2. World War 2 – 1939-1945: While scholars debate what was the actual starting date of WW2, with some saying that it should be taken as 1937 due to the Japanese assault on China[49], the Indian involvement began in 1939 when the Viceroy of India Lord Linlithgow, followed the British 32 Lights Camera War! declaration of war on Germany, without consulting the government composed largely of the Congress representatives. This resulted in the largest volunteer Armed Forces of all time being raised between 1939 and 1945. Approximately 2.5 million men and women volunteered to serve in the Indian Armed Forces across the world on land, air, and sea[50]. This was unlike WW1 which was largely an Army campaign where some Indian fighter pilots served with the RFC[51] (and no naval forces to speak of). Wherever the British fought, Indian soldiers, airmen and sailors were present, in terrains ranging from the North African Desert, Middle East, East Africa, Italy, and the jungles of Burma. Between 1945 and 1947, Indian troops served as “peacekeepers” in some of the colonies such as French Indochina, Indonesia, and Thailand. At Partition, the Armed Forces were divided between India and Pakistan. The Indian Armed Forces got a valuable asset in WW2 – experience in higher command. Brigadier Cariappa became the highest-ranking Indian officer while almost the entire cadre of senior officers and future chiefs of independent India (and Pakistan) served in WW2. WW2 is still controversial no doubt stoked by lopsided views of whether the Indian participation was correct or not, the larger proportion of fame being given to the INA as “true Indians” fueled by politicians of all views, and some ridiculous writers denouncing the “British” Indian Army as “mercenaries”. There are some books available for both the serious historian and the curious reader about the Indian Army in action in all the theaters. There have been films as early as 1945 which range from the British propaganda of Burma Rani (Tamil) to post-independence films such as Samadhi (1950), Hum Dono (1961), and more, which showed Indians fighting on the British side. Except for Samadhi, very few showed Indians fighting against fellow Indians (and in that case, the INA hero fought the British and not his brother who happened to be in the Indian Army!) The perspective on “divided loyalty” is made clear by two of the highest-ranking officers, who served in the British Indian Army. They were told in no uncertain terms that even if they are bound by oath to the British and even if their hearts were entirely Indian, they should

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