Shoojit Sircar’s upcoming film Sardar Udham pays tribute to an unsung hero — Sardar Udham Singh, an Indian revolutionary, who assassinated Michael O’Dwyer in London (1940), to avenge the Jallianwala Bagh massacre (1919). The former British colonial official was the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab (British India) at the time.

O’Dwyer had said the killing of hundreds of protesters during a demonstration at Jallianwala Bagh in the city of Amritsar, Punjab, was justified. Actor Vicky Kaushal portrays Sardar Udham in the film that premieres on Amazon Prime Video on October 16. In an interview with Bombay Times, Shoojit Sircar opens up on his much-awaited film that he has been meaning to make for the past 21 years!

I first visited Jallianwala Bagh in 1999. I was brutally affected. Shaheed Udham Singh ko itnay kam log kyun jaante hai? He was a courageous man, who travelled the world to get to London. I came to Mumbai in 2000 to make this film. I didn’t have money, and no actors knew me. Like Udham Singh, I waited for 21 years to realise my goal of making this film and it was shocking to know that people are unaware of him. That’s the problem of modern times. We are ignorant of who we are in this free world. We tend to forget about our past. Ronnie (Producer Ronnie Lahiri) and I made sure to add that thought in the trailer itself. The world should not forget Udham’s message. It’s unfortunate and sad that he is forgotten, but I hope I am able to bring forth his courageous act.

You are absolutely right. Sometimes, revisiting an incident is bound to reopen old wounds. My idea of making this film was for people to know that Udham was an ordinary person, a normal human being. We should not forget that there’s a revolutionary in everyone. As a filmmaker, your integrity and take on an issue is extremely important. First and foremost, are you a responsible citizen? The viewers by now know my sensibility and treatment. It all depends on who is making the film and why. I never compromise on my cinematic narrative.

It was difficult. I went to various libraries, met many historians, writers, professors and referred to the statements of the Jallianwala Bagh survivors.

I was moved by their pain and sacrifices to the extent that I had to tell their story. Those statements were with the Hunter commission and the Congress report. The information is there, but it’s scattered.

My first choice was Irrfan Khan for playing Sardar Udham. Both of us wanted to make this film for a very long time. It’s not easy to cast someone when you have lived with the thought of Irrfan doing the film. Vicky came into the picture much later. I had seen only one film of Vicky and that was Neeraj Ghaywan’s Masaan. It was beautifully made and Vicky was able to convey the innocence and turbulence in his mind calmly. I needed someone who could do that. He has integrity. Being a Punjabi, he’s closer to the sentiment, language and pain of the character and knows what Punjab has gone through. All these factors led me to him and also the fact that he could play all ages — 20, 30 and 39 convincingly. He managed it quite well.

When I am conceiving a film and the writing part is on, you are constantly evolving. I have a habit of picking theme music or anything that transports me to that world.

Music gives me food for thought. That could be anything. In this case, I shared the music with Vicky. I do it to acclimatize actors to my world and way of thinking. That’s me sharing my emotion behind making the film with them. There’s no fixed routine as such, but I try to take my actors through the emotional journey that I underwent.