Kabir Khan's upcoming web series tells the story of the foot soldiers and captains of Subhash Chandra's Bose's INA, a script he has nurtured over 20 years. He thinks there couldn't be a better time to release it
Aastha Atray Banan (MID-DAY; January 12, 2020)

It was 1999, and director Kabir Khan was 25. It was an exciting time, he says, as he readied for the journey of a lifetime. He was setting off on a road trip from Singapore, through Malaysia and Burma, back to India. What made it better was that his co-travellers included, Captain Lakshmi Sahgal and Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon, both aged 86 and former veterans of Subhas Chandra Bose's Indian National Army (INA). Formed in Singapore in 1942, the INA, led by Bose, aimed to march to Delhi and oust the British. Khan admits his obsession with what was locally referred to as the Azad Hind Fauj. "I was just a few years out of film school then and I got the opportunity to travel with them for my documentary, The Forgotten Army. This was the first time since World War II, that they were retracing the route the Fauj had taken. It was also the first time anyone from the INA was going back to Burma. It was special for them. As for me, I was being told the story by those who were part of history," Khan says on the eve of the launch of his Amazon Original show. The five-part series chronicles the story of Lieutenant Sodhi and his army of men and women fighting for Indian independence.

His interest in the Fauj ensured he didn't forget that he had long wanted to turn the documentary into a feature. But he knew, it was an ambitious project. It took him 20 years to recreate it in a fictionalised format. "The story never left me. The reason I don't make sequels is that once I have made a movie, the story is done. With this one, I felt, it needed a larger canvas. It was a promise I had made to Captain Sahgal and Captain Dhillon. When I made the transition to features, this was the first script I wrote. It kept growing inside me, and the research was internalised in the form of this goldmine of information that I had heard from them," says the two-time National Award winner.

Every day of those three months he spent with the two veterans, now deceased, is etched in his memory, even as they were being watched by the Burmese administration and intelligence. Almost every scene in The Forgotten Army is based on true events, as narrated to Khan. He recalls a time when Dhillon and Sahgal insisted on locating a cave in the jungles of Burma, where they had taken refuge. This was 1944. It was at a place called Mount Popa, and it was their last station. "Captain Sahgal would joke that her husband, Prem Singh Sahgal, who was instrumental in the army, would have named his child Popa [if he had his way]. Their home in Lucknow is named Popa."

They wanted to find the cave that they had operated from. By then they had been reduced to a guerrilla outfit. The three looked for four days, and on the fifth, they met with success. "We went in. Captain Sahgal had told me that her husband had placed a Buddha idol in the middle [of the cave]. And sure enough, there it was. I get goosebumps when I think about it even now."

The story, he says, is about the foot soldiers. Khan, a student of Jamia Millia Islamia and a history buff reflects on India's current climate when he says, "It's important that we watch a story of true patriots at this time. One of the main characters in the story says, 'to be able to fight for the INA, nobody is going to ask you if you are Indian enough, or ask for documentation. You just need to know you are Indian, and that's enough'."


Subhash Chandra Bose reviewing soldiers of the Indian National Army in 1944. Pic/ Getty Images

Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; November 25, 2019)

He started his Bollywood journey with the action film Force (2011). From thereon, Vidyut Jammwal, who is known for his expertise in martial arts, has mastered the action genre. In the upcoming film, Commando 3, he promises to raise the bar even higher. In a conversation with BT, the actor spoke about his fixation with the genre, what inspires him to take up such roles, attempting death defying stunts and more. Excerpts:

From Commando in 2013 to Commando 3 in 2019, you have carried the franchise on your shoulders. Did you draw inspiration for your character Captain Karanvir Singh Dogra from anyone in particular?
I come from an army background. Some of my classmates, who had joined the army, sacrificed their lives for the country; they have inspired me. We would also get to know when someone lost their life, without the nation knowing about it. For example, if something happens in Kashmir, it becomes national news. However, there are places like Nagaland, Manipur and Assam, where army personnel die, but you don’t always get to know about it. Apart from this, people from all walks of life inspire me. Sometimes you watch somebody doing something and get inspired. Recently, I was watching an acrobatic street show in which I saw a man doing a phenomenal stunt. I was awestruck, and he inspired me to try the same.

Considering you hail from an army background, weren’t you inspired to join the Indian Army?
I have many of my relatives serving in the Indian Army. I lost my mama (uncle) in the 1971 war and a cousin in the Kargil War. Today, the biggest honour for me is to play a commando on screen. With this, I can inspire a lot of people to join the Indian Army. I get heartfelt messages on email and social media saying, ‘I watched Commando and now I want to be a part of the Indian Army.’ I also visit army camps; for me, it was a great moment when I got to visit the camps located at the Seven Sisters. Most people there knew about my background and wanted me to visit the school where the army kids study. It was an honour for me to go there and address the jawans and their families. When I was young, I wanted to join the army, but I was passionate about martial arts and pursued this path instead.

Commando, as a franchise, has been high on action. Do you feel the pressure to take the action sequences a notch higher than the previous films?
The pressure of executing these stunts is high, especially because there is a fan base that expects a lot from me and the franchise. I realise that I can’t disappoint the audience. Every time I travel, I have people coming and asking me, ‘Aap iss baar kya naye action scenes karne wale ho?’ People spoke highly about a stunt that I did in the previous instalment of the franchise, where I jumped through a window. This time around, I wanted to surprise them and do something that’s more challenging. I wondered if I would be able to hop into a car through its window and get it right. We have incorporated it in the film. I am an actor who does stunts without any cables and that gives me a high.

You do all your stunts without a body double. Does it bother you that you could sustain serious injuries despite the precautions?
If you are getting into the swimming pool, you will get wet, right? Having said that, I haven’t really had any major injuries. I lost my father when I was 19-years-old, I have a feeling that he watches over me and protects me every time I execute a stunt. I do these stunts myself and at the end of the day, when I return home uninjured, it’s like a big celebration for me.

It’s interesting that while you have been a part of every film of the franchise, you have had a new director each time. What was it like to work with Aditya Datt this time?
Aditya Datt comes with a lot of energy and creative ideas. He is brilliant, but you need someone who can mentor you; and that’s where Vipul Shah (producer) comes in. I love the way he lets the director do his job, but also has the vision that he doesn’t veer away from. That’s the mark of a true mentor.

You have been associated with Vipul Shah from your debut film Force to Commando 3; what kind of a rapport do you share?
He is a mentor, but he is also a great friend. He helps me with a lot of regular things and even gives me tips on investments, etc. He is like family to me and is always there for me.

Action apart, don’t you want to attempt films in other genres as well?
Well, I was ranked sixth in a list of top 10 martial artists in the world and have received acknowledgement for my work. I want the world to know that there is an action hero from India, who does authentic Indian martial arts. I would like to be a part of action-comedies and action-romances, too. I will continue to do action all my life.

Talking about getting noticed by the world, is Hollywood on your mind?
We had someone like a Chuck Russell from Hollywood directing me in Junglee. There’s no such thing as ‘here’ and ‘there’; it’s one big world when it comes to movies.

Divya Kaushik and Abhimanyu Mathur (BOMBAY TIMES; August 15, 2019)

Though it is the Red Fort where the Prime Minister unfurls the tricolour every Independence Day, curiously enough, it is the India Gate that has come to signify patriotism in most films and TV shows. Tigmanshu Dhulia is one of those rare filmmakers who have shot inside the Red Fort, an opportunity he got while making Raag Desh, a film based on the famous Indian National Army (INA) trials.

According to Tigmanshu, the Red Fort does not feature so prominently on the screen because of Bollywood’s laziness when it comes to research. “This has happened recently. I think it is basically ignorance. Not many filmmakers are inclined towards history because more research is needed there. Research is a recent discipline in Hindi films, it wasn’t there earlier,” says the director.

A student of history before he became a filmmaker, Tigmanshu delves into how before the India Gate was even constructed, it was the Red Fort that stood tall as the symbol of India’s freedom struggle. “India Gate is publicised in a certain way in popular culture. Maybe it is because of that that whenever we speak of freedom or anything nationalistic, we show the India Gate. But when Netaji was at Bahadur Shah Zafar’s grave in Rangoon, he pledged that aapko main Hindustan wapas leke chalunga. Hum aapko Red Fort mein baithayenge. This is a fact. It was always the Red Fort. Dilli Chalo was Lal Qila Chalo,” says Tigmanshu.

The director-actor has had a strong bond with the Indian freedom struggle. His grandfather was a freedom fighter. “During the Quit India Movement, he was in prison for four years. The legacy of that period is the eczema that he contracted there, which has stayed in the family. I also have it,” the filmmaker says with a smile. It was only natural for someone who grew up with that background to look for stories associated with the freedom struggle to show on the silver screen, and this quest culminated in Raag Desh, which brought him to the Red Fort.

The director admits that though he lived in Delhi for years, it was Raag Desh that introduced him to the history of the monument. He shares, “When I went for the recce, it was very overwhelming. Uske pehle main saat saal Delhi raha hoon, three of them with NSD, but Red Fort kabhi gaya nahin tha. I had gone as a tourist but I hadn’t seen that side (the barracks) even once. But when I had to make the film, then I went there. The uniforms of Prem Sehgal, Shahnawaz Khan, Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon are all kept there. It was overwhelming to see that, to think that they must have walked there at one time. It was a great experience.”

Inside the Red Fort, Tigmanshu shot at the very place where the barracks that housed the INA officers once existed. That is when he learnt about the significance of the monument for the British. He tells us, “The Britishers had this idea that these guys are trying to challenge us, so let’s set an example, let’s have the trial at the Red Fort as it was an iconic place. Bahadur Shah Zafar ko unhone dethrone kiya. They wanted to set an example by putting all INA prisoners inside the Red Fort and decided that the trials will happen there. They were so foolish that they chose these three officers – one Sikh, one Hindu and one Muslim – which was kind of representing the entire country. That went completely against the Britishers.”

Tigmanshu says the INA Trials were the final nail in the coffin for the British Raj. He recounts an incident from then to prove his point. “When the trials were taking place at the Red Fort, the three officers used to live there. Red Fort had barracks where the museum stands now. From the barracks, the officers were taken to the room where the trials took place in a truck. This one time, a British officer and his Gorkha soldiers were leading the officers. This scene is in the film too. The British officer pushes the INA officers. Gurbaksh palat ke ek maarta hai usko. Aur koi bhi Gorkha soldier uss officer ki madad ke liye nahin aata. Uss din inko lagta hai ki yeh kya ho gaya! That was a big setback. Even Nehru ji spoke about it. That triggered the thought among British that if soldiers are not with us, who will save us? We need to get out of here. Otherwise, Churchill had openly said during World War II ki woh India nahin chhodne wale. Woh toh Labour party jeet gayi wahan aur INA hua yahan and that changed everything,” he says.

Tigmanshu further says that even Clement Attlee, who was the British Prime Minister when India became independent, attributed the independence to the INA. He shares, “Clement Attlee, who was the British Prime Minister for one term (from 1945-51), had come to India on an unofficial visit once. The Governor of Bengal (P B Chakraborthy, the then Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court and the acting Governor of Bengal) invited him for tea. There, he was asked, ‘What do you think was the role of the Indian National Congress in independence?’ He just smiled and said, ‘It was not the Indian National Congress but the INA that sort of propelled us to leave India.’”

The director feels that the Red Fort and the history of freedom struggle associated with it symbolise religious harmony. He elaborates, “Red Fort stands as a symbol of an India that was there before the Britishers arrived and 1857 symbolises the Hindu-Muslim unity in this country. Woh jo mutiny hui thi, woh soldiers Hindu thay, Muslim thay, sabko East India Company ke khilaf ladna tha aur unhone bola Badadur Shah Zafar humara raja hai, toh sabne bola, Dilli chalo, Red Fort pahuncho. Red Fort humare Hindustan ki integrity, secular nature ko represent karta hai.”

In fact, during his research for Raag Desh, Tigmanshu came across several incidents related to the freedom struggle and the INA, which showed the secular fabric of the movement. He shares his favourite, “Burma had many south Indians at that time. There were Sikhs also. Netaji went to one south Indian temple. He was accompanied by some Muslim soldiers and the temple priest refused to let them enter. Netaji ne kaha mujhe toh yahan poore Hindustan ke liye puja karni hai. When he said that, the temple priest called them aur tika lagaya sabko. When they all came out of the temple, Netaji asked everyone to wipe off the tika from their foreheads and said the day we would start wearing religion on our faces, India will be divided. It was such a big thing. Don’t flaunt your religion. Religion is a very personal thing, aur aaj dekho kya haal hai.”

It was at the Red Fort during the INA Trials that the Hindu Mahasabha, Muslim League, and the Indian National Congress came together for the first time in support of one cause. The director sees certain lessons in this for the current populace in this fragmented climate. He tells us, “The right history was taught to us and we are a product of that era, but if that history is changed then there won’t be any meaning left in icons like Red Fort. People will forget 1857. In earlier days, roti and lotus flower had certain significance. Roti symbolises the moon or crescent and lotus flower has been Lord Vishnu’s symbol. So if one village wanted to convey it to the other that they are united, then one man from the village would carry a roti and a lotus flower. Even if that person would get caught, no one would realise what it was. So they started a system with these elements that were religious symbols, but the motivation was not religious. Kamaal ka daur tha 1857!”

The actor made rotis for “the first time” in his life and was glad that it was for the Indian Army
BOMBAY TIMES (August 3, 2019)

Vicky Kaushal is spending time with the Indian Army at the Indo-China border area of Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, and has turned chef for the jawans. The actor played an army officer in his last film URI: The Surgical Strike and his next is Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw’s biopic. He shared a series of pictures on Instagram making rotis for the first time in his life. “The first-ever roti I made... glad it was for the army,” he wrote. In the pictures, an excited Vicky, donning the Indian Army uniform, is seen taking cooking lessons from the chef of the Army mess. Earlier on Wednesday, he gave a glimpse of his visit by sharing a picture with the Army personnel on his Instagram. “Elated to be getting an opportunity to spend a few days with our Indian Army posted at 14,000 ft altitude at the Indo-China border of Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh,” he captioned the picture.

The filmmaker is set to venture into the digital world with an ambitiously-mounted mini-series that will touch upon Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 29, 2017)

After wrapping up his Salman Khan-starrer Tubelight, which is set against the 1962 Sino-Indian war and marks the Bollywood debut of Chinese actress Zhu Zhu, Kabir Khan has quietly begun work on his next. Mirror has learnt that the filmmaker is now foraying into the digital space with an international web series set during World War II that will be directed and produced by him.

“It’s a war epic, an Indian Band of Brothers (the 2001 American wardrama miniseries co-written by Tom Hanks and featuring Homeland star Damian Lewis) of sorts, which will touch upon several stories, including the contribution of women in the Indian National Army. Kabir has been working on the subject since many years and now has a screenplay ready, however, he will develop the story further only after the release of Tubelight with a team of writers,” informs a source close to the development.

“Kabir is extremely excited about this mega project with a scale and budget that will be way higher than any of his films till date. It will mostly be a nine to 10-episode series to be shot extensively abroad with some portions set in India and will feature actors and technicians from all over the world but Kabir will begin casting only after the release of Tubelight,” says the source, adding that Kabir is currently focused on the post-production of his upcoming Salman Khan-starrer.

After working as a cinematographer on Gautam Ghosh’s documentary film, Beyond The Himalayas, Kabir had made his own directorial debut with a documentary, The Forgotten Army, which was based on Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army. The film dates back to the time when 70,000 Indians had waged a war against the British Empire and contains rare footage from the war in Burma. The TV series had gone on to win the Grand Jury Award at the South Asian Film Festival in Kathmandu in 1998 and was then screened at film festivals abroad. Kabir had followed up his debut success with two more documentaries before foraying into mainstream Hindi cinema with the John Abraham-Arshad Warsi-starrer Kabul Express in 2006. He then made more box office hits like New York, Ek Tha Tiger and Bajrangi Bhaijaan.