‘A monumental work on a mighty one’ would be the best description of the movie Swatantrya Veer Savarkar (2024) by Randeep Hooda playing the role of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar! Writer, director, producer and an outstanding actor, Hooda has shown courage exemplary, determination unyielding and passion relentless- to the extent of starving himself to hunger for losing 32 kg to literally live the role of titular character played by him!
Right from the mannerisms to his aquiline nose, from the penetrating gaze behind those bespectacled eyes to his attire, from the narrow jawline to the scholarliness stamped on his face, from the secretive methods of a revolutionary to the impeccable English of a lawyer arguing with British- Hooda is every inch Savarkar personified. Yes, he shines as a method actor and has certainly immortalized himself in the role of Savarkar!
The other actors essaying the role of Lokmanya Tilak, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Ambedkar, Ganesh Savarkar (brother of Vinayak, and also a revolutionary), Yamunabai Savarkar (wife of Vinayak)- to name a few- all have done justice to their part. The movie explores the well-organised network of revolutionary movements in India in which different revolutionary organisations co-ordinated with each other and even got inspired by each other.
From the Chapekar brothers to the Savarkar brothers, from Madan Lal Dhingra and Anant Kanhere to Khudiram Bose, from Bhagat Singh to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and Rash Behari Bose – all have been given space in the movie to do justice to the colossal impact of the underground revolutionary movement of India.
However, the unsung revolutionaries were unfortunate enough to receive routine condemnation from the Congress platform. Gandhi’s denunciation of the revolutionary movement as cowardly, misguided and not the right way by his insistence on non-violence as the only way for achieving freedom appears insensitive. This unpleasant reality is presented by flashing the newspaper reports from archives on the big screen.
Also, read about the historical perspective for the movie Savarkar
A thrilling scene from the movie is Savarkar’s epic leap from the steamer into the sea off the coast of Marseilles, France and his swimming away while escaping British custody, evading the bullets fired at him. The terrifying tortures perpetrated on the Savarkar brothers and other revolutionary inmates in the Cellular jail of Andaman, the gross violation of human rights and the unimaginably unhygienic quality of food compelling prisoners to vomit – all of this has been shown raw, naked and truly horrifying.
Some went insane; some committed suicide. Vinayak Savarkar spent nearly 14 years in prison of which more than 10 years in Andaman; his brother Ganesh Savarkar also spent 12 years in the same Cellular jail but for 2 years they were not even aware of this. Such was the extent of isolation of prisoners from one another. The movie deserves to be seen to know what Kaala Paani (the dark waters of Andaman) meant.
As rightly observed in the movie, not a single Congress leader had been sentenced to Andaman: yet the Congress of today mocks Savarkar as a “traitor” and vilifies him as a “coward” writing so-called mercy petitions. The baselessness of all these allegations – propagandistic and hate-filled – have been demolished in the light of well-researched facts.
The movie brings to the fore the horrors of pan-Islamism that swept across the country starting in 1920 to establish Islamic rule over India during the Khilafat movement. Cunning historians have whitewashed it all and played out a fabricated script which vilifies Hindutva penned by Savarkar in 1923. The movie highlights Hindutva as the civilizational identity of India- truly inclusive, democratic with equal rights for all Indians but misrepresented and mischaracterised as communal in service of ugly politics of secularism.
The exploitation of Gandhi’s assassination for victimising and silencing Hindus by imprinting a dishonest narrative of Hindu communalism on the national subconscious has been shown brilliantly, subtly, correctly and effectively in the movie. Watch this movie not for Savarkar alone; watch it to see how Bharat has been betrayed by her very own intellectuals!
About Author : Manoj Shankar Naik
Manoj Shankar Naik is in the coaching profession teaching Mathematics for school and junior college as well as competitive entrance exams for admission to engineering courses. Apart from his profession, he has a deep interest in the history of the colonial era and is fairly well-versed with the writings of most national leaders.
Published works:
- Savarkar in the light of Vivekananda: 4th enlarged edition published in 2024 by Vivekananda Kendra, Chennai
- Reviewing Hindutva: Historical perspective in the light of Vivekananda, Vivekananda Kendra, Chennai
- Freedom Struggle: Untold Aspects, Karnala Charitable Trust, Pune
- Regular contributor to Yuva Bharata, a monthly brought out by Vivekananda Kendra
- A series of articles contributed in past to Bal Vihar, an international monthly published by Chinmaya Mission.
(For a better understanding of the movie, click on the link to get a historical background before watching the movie)
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