Bombay Talkies, one of India's oldest movie studios, shut shop in 1954 after making 102 films, the last being the Dev Anand-Ashok Kumar-Meena Kumari-starrer Baadbaan. Now, Abhay Kumar, grandson of Raj Narayan Dube, one of the studio's founders, is set to revive the banner with their first production in 61 years. Titled Gandhi vs Aazaad, the historical drama features him in the titular role of nationalist Chandra Shekhar Azad, with several newcomers as other freedom fighters.

“I developed an interest in Partition history as a student at Nashik's Bhonsala Military School. My film looks at it from a modern perspective in a bid to understand what went wrong because of certain stubborn decisions made by Mahatma Gandhi,“ says Abhay, who is also directing the film that pits Azad's ideologies against Gandhi's. “I am not targeting anyone, I just want to highlight some facts about our freedom struggle that many Indians may not be aware of.“

Abhay recalls how Gyan Mukherjee's Kismet was written after Subhash Chandra Bose wrote the studio a letter encouraging them to make more patriotic films. “Films have the potential to bring a change in society and I want to create an impact with this one,“ says Abhay, who started scripting in 2010 and wrapped up the shoot a few months ago.

Abhay is now gearing up to take it to the Censor Board. Is he worried about cuts? “Our film narrates a true and meaningful story. If they create an issue, we can always go to court. I will release it with absolutely no cuts,“ asserts the actor-filmmaker, determined to keep the Bombay Talkies banner active from now on.