The filmmaker says Shah Rukh Khan was ‘extremely gracious’ and rendered his voice as a narrator for his new web series within 48 hours
Kavita Awaasthi (HINDUSTAN TIMES; January 28, 2020)

Kabir Khan recently released his latest directorial, The Forgotten Army — Azaadi Ke Liye, and many viewers were surprised to hear the voice of Shah Rukh Khan as the narrator in the web show. “As this is a true story, we have a bit of real footage in the beginning of each episode and Shah Rukh has very graciously voiced the introductions to all the episodes. I have known Shah Rukh since my college days in Jamia Millia Islamia (Delhi), as he was my senior, and we also participated in a stage show, Westside Story, together. I also studied from his notes he gave me during college and for people who don’t know, he was a brilliant student,” shares Kabir.

The series starring Sunny Kaushal and Sharvari is based on true events tracing the story of the brave soldiers from the Indian National Army who marched towards the capital, with the war cry ‘Challo Dilli’, to win back their country from the British. Before making the web show, the filmmaker had made a documentary in 1999, called The Forgotten Army, and since then, he tried to make a film on this subject multiple times, and he also spoke to Shah Rukh about it.

“I wanted to do this film with Shah Rukh and we spoke about it many times but we never took it beyond a point. I reached out to him with no expectations. You can’t just ask a superstar to do something in a project. So, when I was making the web show, something in me urged me to reach out to him and he was extremely gracious. Within 48 hours, he was there recording for us. And that was incredible as with Shah Rukh, discussing a film takes a year but with this, he did it within two days,” says Kabir, revealing that the actor refused to be compensated for the same.

Kabir admits that while this was the “easiest part” of shooting the show, the tough part was actually shooting the series on location which included shooting in jungles, rivers, war torn land, and doing action scenes there. “I always react to locations and feel alive there. Put me in a studio and my creative juices dry up. I go brain dead. This is a story that needed to be told using in the real locations, including the tropical jungles of South East Asia, the banks of the river Kwai, Thailand, and borders of Burma to recreate the battle between Burma and India. The locations were tough and every day, we would drive for two hours followed by a trek for two more,” says the filmmaker.

Charting his own career away from the shadow of his famous brother, Sunny Kaushal discusses his biggest project to date and the challenge of comparison
Letty Mariam Abraham (MID-DAY; January 21, 2020)

It's a homecoming of sorts for Sunny Kaushal, who kicked off his career with the web series Chukiyagiri before being big-screen bound. He will soon be seen in Kabir Khan's ambitious digital offering, The Forgotten Army, on Amazon Prime. A man of few words, the actor discusses why a film wouldn't do justice to the subject and the dilemmas of being compared to actor-brother Vicky Kaushal.

Edited excerpts from the interview.

What was your brief for The Forgotten Army?
I had to portray a real-life character. Kabir [Khan, director] had made a documentary 20 years ago, which became the backbone of the research for this series. I watched it on YouTube, which helped. While the show revolves around Azad Hind Fauj, it is an interpersonal story about the characters. There was nothing larger than life about them.

Considering the series also focuses on the love story between Col. Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon and Captain Lakshmi Sehgal, how much of it is fictionalised?
The chapters [and events] that you see are exactly how it happened. The only fictional part is that it is a story told from the perspective of Maya [Sharvari's character] and Surinder Sodhi [his part]. Sodhi is the amalgamation of several [real-life] characters. Similarly, Lakshmi Sehgal and Jaanki Thevar's characters were amalgamated for Sharvari's Maya.

Did you do any research as prep for the historical drama?
Kabir sir did extensive research on the subject and that was enough for us. I remember asking him about Dhillon saab because he lived with him for several days. Kabir sir knew about their bungalow in Kolkata and what their child was named — these are personal stories that you can't find on the Internet.

Do you think a theatrical release would do more justice to a subject like The Forgotten Army?
I think the subject needed a long format. If it had to be made into a film, it would have to be made into three parts because it is such a vast story. You cannot contain it in a two-and-a-half hour film, which is why Kabir sir chose to make it a web series.

At the start of your career, your father Sham Kaushal stated that he will not build inroads into Bollywood for you. Your take?
My father is a self-made man. [Similarly] once I decided to become an actor, I gave auditions and did everything required to realise my dream. [I put in] years of struggle and hard work. It's the same for anyone in any other field. There is nothing extraordinary.

Are you bothered by comparisons with Vicky?
Not at all, but it irks me when someone asks me what [acting] tips he gave me. I recently finished promoting Bhangra Paa Le, and I used to be asked the same question every day. In this profession, you cannot sustain on a tip; you need to have your own opinion. I feel proud when I am compared to him because he has reached a stage where he is considered the benchmark.

Kavita Awaasthi (HINDUSTAN TIMES; January 13, 2020)

When filmmaker Kabir Khan made a documentary in 1999, called The Forgotten Army, little did he know that his endeavour to make it for television would take 20 years. The documentary got him a lot of attention and became his “calling card”, which led to his debut directorial, Kabul Express (2006). But the thought of making his “dream project” never left him.

“I was naïve when I wrote a film script and didn’t realise that no one would be willing to give so much money to a documentary filmmaker in Mumbai. After every film, I would ask Aditya Chopra (producer) that can we make this into a film? He would tell me to wait and I kept making other films. But then, I met the heads of this OTT and while ideating, I brought up my story and felt it would lend itself to an original limited series and things materialised,” says Kabir, sharing that he can’t get enough of the untold chapter from this significant Indian history. The upcoming series helmed by Kabir, The Forgotten Army - Azaadi Ke Liye, is based on true events tracing the story of the brave soldiers from the Indian National Army (INA) who marched towards the capital, with the war cry ‘Challo Dilli’, to win back their country from the British.

Kabir loves that the show ultimately happened on a digital platform as it “doesn’t need to be over simplified for a universal appeal” and how he “didn’t have to curtail the logistics” of the shoot. Making a web show also means no pressure to deliver numbers at the box office. Ask him about the same, and he says, “Probably yes. But I don’t take box office numbers seriously because if you do that, then you drive yourself crazy. No one understands box office. It is liberating to not be judged on the opening day figures.”

Most of Kabir’s films — New York (2009), Ek Tha Tiger (2012), Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015), Tubelight (2017) — have elements of terrorism or war and he admits that he likes it that way. He adds, “It is a conscious decision to have a larger than life political backdrop to my films with a human story at the fore. As an audience, I would always struggle while watching mainstream cinema as often it has no context. I can’t connect to love stories set in la la land. Therefore, my favourite filmmaker is Mani Ratnam who always has context in his films. Whether it is war or terrorism, the attempt is to bring a strong political and social context to my films. And the beauty of history is that it is always relevant.”

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

Kabir Khan chronicles how he recreated Singapore's City Hall in Mumbai for The Forgotten Army
Sonia Lulla (MID-DAY; January 10, 2020)

Kabir Khan's The Forgotten Army will trace the making of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose-led Indian National Army, the Indian military wing formed by Indian prisoners of war who were captured after the fall of Singapore. Since a large portion of the story plays out in Singapore of the 1940s, the director recreated parts of the island city-state in Mumbai.

"While we shot the scenes of current-day Singapore in the country itself, the grandeur of old Singapore had to be recreated in Mumbai. [We did so] with the help of archival footage and cutting-edge technology," says the director proudly, adding that his team scoured through extensive archival footage available as part of pre-production. "In fact, we have used some of that actual footage in the show."

A story about Bose's valiant army would be incomplete without a mention of the leader's iconic speech, Tum mujhe khoon do. Singapore's City Hall, which bore witness to the landmark speech, was replicated in Mumbai's Film City. "It was important for me to recreate the iconic places of Singapore to present an authentic account of the incidents that transpired. [We've shot] hair-raising moments, such as the Japanese attacking the British Army on bicycles, [and] 30,000 soldiers marching from Singapore City Hall shouting 'Jai Hind' while raising their rifles. We also shot at the INA memorial in Singapore. Most sets were built with the help of blueprints, with VFX used to [enhance them further]. We had around 900 people on set working round the clock."

Newbie Sharvari on bagging Bunty Aur Babli 2 and Kabir Khan's next
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; December 21, 2019)

"I have grown up watching Yash Raj movies. So, to be signed on by them as a talent is a special feeling," beams Sharvari, evidently overwhelmed at the turn of events. The actor, 22, is the latest talent to be launched by Yash Raj Films and is set to make her debut opposite Siddhant Chaturvedi in Bunty Aur Babli 2.

Even as she kicks off the shoot of the con drama, the youngster is sitting pretty with a second project in her kitty. She has been roped in by Kabir Khan for his web series, The Forgotten Army. Her hard work over the past few years — she served as an assistant director on Luv Ranjan's Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 (2015) and Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety (2018) — has come to fruition. "To be announced as a heroine in Bunty Aur Babli 2 and launched as the female lead in Kabir Khan's project, in a matter of few hours, was surreal. It is a validation that I'm on the right track."

His debut directorial venture for Doordarshan staying with him for two decades, Kabir Khan on revisiting the subject of WWII in the web show
Sonia Lulla (MID-DAY; December 19, 2019)

Even as he gears up to bring the story of India's first World Cup victory to life with Ranveer Singh-starrer '83, Kabir Khan is garnering the attention of cinephiles with a project that has stayed with him for several years. It was in 1999 that the filmmaker made his directorial debut with The Forgotten Army — based on Subhas Chandra Bose's Indian National Army — a Doordarshan project that had such an impact on him that he harboured the desire to recreate it on an elaborate scale, ever since.

"This is a story 20 years in the making," Khan tells mid-day of his upcoming web offering, The Forgotten Army — Azaadi Ke Liye. "The story moved me passionately as a filmmaker ever since I made a documentary on the subject. I have always wanted to tell this largely unheard story of our valiant INA soldiers, who were fighting for our country's independence in a land far away from Indian soil."

Revisiting those events that concerned India before and after the second World War, the show, a source says, was filmed in locations that were crucial to the events that transpired then. "We shot in Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. [Certain] locations were recreated in Mumbai on a mammoth scale, even if that meant investing heavily for a mere four-day shoot that required the set-up. The team wanted to make the series look as authentic as possible," says the source.

Kabir Khan on the moment his leading man held the real 1983 trophy, recreating history with the sports-drama, and why the game superseded everything else for him
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 12, 2019)

Every sportsman preps up for months for a major sporting event. How long was yours?
Our prep took two years, my longest and most exhaustive, given that everything about the story had to be authentic. Even though 36 years have passed since India lifted the cricket World Cup for the first time, everyone over 40 recalls it. There’s footage available online.

Director Nitesh Tiwari says he’s looking forward to Kapil Dev’s 175 against Zimbabwe because while he’s seen the final many times on TV, he’s yet to see this historic innings.
No one except those present at the Nevill Ground at Tunbridge Wells have seen it. BBC was on strike on June 18, so the match was never recorded. There’s not a single second of footage available. It was a challenge to recreate it.

How did you do it?
From the few photographs and references, and by tapping into the memory bank of Kapil Dev, the players and old-timers, along with spectators who’d watched the match from different stands. If this was fiction, it’d be too far-fetched to be true because when Kapil Dev walked in, India’s top order – Sunil Gavaskar, (K) Srikkanth, Mohinder Amarnath, Sandeep Patil and Yashpal Sharma – was back in the pavilion with the scorecard reading 17 for 5. Thanks to his superhuman effort, we ended up with 266, and then, bowled out the opponents for 235. No one had seen a cricketer bat like that, before or after, not even Kapil sir. I’m glad I got to reconstruct his career highlight for the world to see.

Sunil Gavaskar says it was the greatest ODI knock he’s seen…
He called it a “game-changing innings” and when the interviewer alluded to the scorecard, he clarified that he didn’t mean just that game, it changed the game of cricket forever.

Your memories of the final?
We’d landed in Hyderabad that morning and I watched it with the family at my native home. I was still in school and didn’t understand why people came out on the streets to burst fireworks. Later I realised June 25, 1983 marked the coming-of-age not just of Indian cricket but of the country as well.

I approached ’83 as a documentary, going back to my journalism days to speak with anybody who had a story to tell. A senior barrister of Indian origin settled in the UK admitted that till June 25 he’d been just one of the boys at his tony public school. The day after our boys defeated favourites West Indies in their third consecutive World Cup final at Lords, he was being asked, “Hey, aren’t you an Indian?” Suddenly, it was cool to be one because we were the world champions. This win was a turnaround for the Indian diaspora.

How was it recreating that grand win on camera?
We shot for five days at the Lord’s stadium in London, entering the members-only Long Room where no camera had ventured before, the dressing rooms and locker rooms, then, stepped out on the balcony where the World Cup was presented to Kapil sir. And guess what? They brought out the real World Cup for Ranveer (Singh, who is playing Kapil Dev in the film) too. Overwhelmed, he broke down when I shouted “Cut”.

Among those on the balcony was also Clive Lloyd’s son who, like Gordan Greenidge and Malcolm Marshall’s sons, is playing his father in the film. We had legends like Kapil Dev, Gavaskar to Vivian Richards dropping by. That day, Clive Lloyd, captain of the ’83 West Indian team which had crashed to 140 all out to give Kapil us an unlikely win, was there to support his son. When we urged him to come closer, he quipped that he didn’t want to see the Cup being given away for the second time in his life.

Virat Kohli and his boys were the favourites to lift the World Cup this year, but they lost in the semis. Now, everyone’s looking to you to bring the World Cup home.
(Laughing) You are alluding to the memes that popped up the morning after India’s shocking defeat to New Zealand and put the smile back on our faces. We’d planned to take the day off to watch the final at Lord’s and were equally disappointed. On paper, we had the best squad ever, but World Cup is cricket at its best. And that makes our ’83 achievement even bigger because we were the lowest-ranked team and many believing India should be kept out of the competition as it’d bring down the standard of the game. Twenty-four-year-old Kapil Dev and his boys, many in their early 20s, were the underdogs who’d not won a single match in the history of the World Cup and fought against all odds to beat the reigning champs. That’s something not many know. They believe we were the superstars even then. I’m proud to chronicle this incredible journey of not just our icons, Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, but also players like Madan Lal, Roger Binny and Yashpal Sharma, whose achievements have since been forgotten.

The weather played spoilsport for many teams, including India, during the recent World Cup. But it was a smooth run for you.
Yes, the weather Gods were kind; we had a 20-day schedule in Scotland and it rained for six days. On three of those six days, we were shooting indoors, the other three were off days. We did not lose a single day, everything from the cast to the locations to the action just fell into place seamlessly.

Everyone’s raving about Ranveer’s uncanny similarity with Kapil Dev in the film.
Look, for me, it was never a lookalike contest. For every character, I cast a person who matched the persona of the original. In the last few films, Ranveer’s lived his roles. It’s a rare gift he has, along with the effort he puts in. Even in our film, after 10 minutes you’ll forget it’s Ranveer on screen. With visual effects and prosthetics, I could have made him a replica of Kapil sir. But at the end of the day, it wasn’t about the look but whether he was convincing playing a cricketer through 45 days. At times, even Kapil sir’s daughter Amiya who is an AD on the film, would find it eerie. Even the rest of the boys trained in the sport for a year and for the squads of other countries, we roped in real cricketers because the game was top priority.

Deepika Padukone was cast as Romi Dev because she and Ranveer are a couple now...
No, she is a brilliant performer whom I have always adored and wanted to work with. We are lucky she came on board not just as an actor but as a producer too. Romi ma’am is a significant part of Kapil sir’s support system; Deepika embodies her energy effortlessly.

Two years of research and just two hours of screen time. You have enough left for a book...
Yes, a book is on the cards. So much happened during the tournament and we have so much research and visual material. I’ve made films before ’83 and I’ll make more after this, but this journey was unbelievable. I want to chronicle it for future generations.

We’ve heard that next up is a big action film with Sajid Nadiadwala.
I myself don’t know what I am doing next. Tubelight, ’83 and The Forgotten Army, all happened in close succession and after three hectic years, I want to take off for a while before I figure out which of the two-three ideas I’ll flag off.

Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; August 28, 2018)

“The praise has been reassuring,” says a relieved Sunny Kaushal, who confesses to have been out of work for the two years that divided his forgettable debut film and Reema Kagti’s Gold. Brother of acclaimed actor Vicky Kaushal, who only recently found a spot on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list, Sunny reveals that he often found himself feeling “ uncertain” about his craft.

“But, after Gold, the phone hasn’t stopped buzzing. I feel rejuvenated. This was a tough film to do because there were so many actors involved in it. But when you are around talented people, the [filming] process is a breezy one.”

Sharing screen space with character actors like Amit Sadh and Vineet Kumar Singh implies Sunny needed to have his game face on at all times. However, the atmosphere on set, he asserts, was always supportive. “Most of my scenes were with them and they would encourage me all the time. However, even amidst this ensemble cast, the real hero was Reema. She could manoeuvre and handle team dynamics with ease. I learnt the value of team spirit. No one acts alone; it’s all about a dedicated bunch making a good film,” he says, adding that he now hopes to up the ante with his forthcoming ventures. “After this, I have Kabir Khan’s web show, The Forgotten Army in the pipeline. That will be out next year.”

Even though comparison with his actor-brother are inevitable, Sunny points to his humble beginnings to assert that he’s always found a friend in Vicky. “Vicky and I stayed in a small 10-by-10 chawl in Malad. When we were young, we’ve seen dad being out of work for weeks, and, soon later, away from home for work for months. We are conditioned to surviving against all odds. Vicky is my support system. My family is the fuel that drives me. My brother has no expectations from me. He understands that we are individuals fighting our own battles.”

Kabir on why he roped in fresh faces for his show on Subhas Chandra Bose
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; December 19, 2017)

With the debacle of his Salman Khan-starrer, Tubelight, behind him, Kabir Khan has shifted his attention to his upcoming web show, The Forgotten Army. Having kicked off work on the series, based on his documentary by the same name, Khan refutes suggestions that Bollywood bigwigs are associated with the project. “There are no Bollywood actors in the series,” he says, close on the heels of reports that indicated Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan’s association with the outing. “We thought of approaching them, but then chose to cast fresh faces.”

The series, being touted as Amazon’s first international series from the country, is based on Subhas Chandra Bose’s Indian National Army. That it will also release in countries that do not recognize Bollywood talent was another reason to avoid casting the actors, says Khan. “It’s better to invest in the story and trust new talent, than spend heavily on actors for such a platform.”

Given that the series will release in 204 territories, as Khan claims, he has roped in talent from across the globe. “We have soldiers from the Indian, Japanese, British and Burmese armies, and talent from across the globe. The best part about the casting is that the characters will speak in their native language.”

The action for the series, he adds, is being helmed by Sham Kaushal. “But we are also collaborating with teams internationally.” Having returned to the set on December 15, Khan calls the “laborious and painstaking process of filmmaking”, enjoyable. “We started shooting in Film City and will wrap up the ongoing schedule by January 4. Then, we head to Thailand, near the Burmese border, and will shoot a major chunk there, and in the jungles nearby. We’re keeping the series realistic. So, the number of people involved with the project is large, especially since we’re showcasing a war between two countries.”

Khan refutes suggestions that filming for his series was deferred. “We always planned to wrap up our Thailand schedule by February. It is relatively dry in the area around this time. And we needed it to be that way.”

Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; July 5, 2017)

After Tubelight, Kabir Khan has begun work on his next — this time, a web series called The Forgotten Army — which he has been trying to make since his formative years as a documentary filmmaker.

After Hrs was the first to tell you that Saif Ali Khan has been approached to play the leading man in the series, which revolves around the soldiers of the Azad Hind Fauj. Along with Saif, there’s a strong role of a woman in it too.

“There’s a very important female character in The Forgotten Army. The Azad Hind Fauj also had the only women fighting infantry unit in the history of wars. It was called the Rani Jhansi regiment. So the female character will be leading that unit in the web series.”

Kabir wants a “Bollywood actress for the role” and tells us that the team is “still working on the casting.” But, we hear that the director wants to cast Shraddha Kapoor and has initiated formal talks with her team. Says a source,

“They have liked the idea but they are taking a call on the same.” Parineeti is his second choice but the director feels Shraddha’s perfect for the character.

Not the story of Bose
Kabir says, “For me, it’s not the story of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Everyone knows about him, but what about the soldiers in his army? What happened to them? That’s what the web series is about. It’s an epic and pans across six to eight episodes. Each episode will be around 40 minutes long so the total runtime would be almost equivalent to two feature films.”

Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; April 14, 2017)

Kabir Khan might be counted among the torchbearers of massy movies, but the ex- documentary director hasn’t lost sight of his realistic vein of filmmaking. His next is Salman Khan-starrer Tubelight. “It’s Salman’s most endearing character till date and, arguably, his best performance too. On the edit table, when I saw his performance, I was amazed at how much his craft has improved. He has brought soul to the film like never before. The teaser will be out by the month-end. The ball will start rolling thereafter. What everyone is most excited about is us introducing Zhu Zhu (Chinese movie star). She is a fantastic actor and a beautiful person. I thoroughly enjoyed working with her. She brings depth to the film, and her performance gives a special touch to her character. She is the heart of the film; people will love her.”

Currently, however, the filmmaker is consumed by his passion project — The Forgotten Army — for Amazon Prime that will trace the journey of the Indian National Army. “I am feeling liberated. In mainstream cinema, you have too many restrictions imposed on you. When you are casting for a show like this, you cast for the character, not for the star. We might still manage a big star on board, but that’ll be limiting us. Our budget isn’t decided by the star but the content. It’s truly empowering that people are spending on stories, not celebrities.”

Quiz him about his reference point and he is quick to say, “Rangoon touched upon INA, but they never went into the history of it. I had made a documentary on two legendary soldiers of INA long ago. It’s a forgotten army. Writing it will be tricky. Though Bose is a strong element of Azad Hind Fauj, my story is more about the soldiers of INA.”

He asserts he doesn’t ever feel the pressure to say the right thing. “I am careful to not sensationalize sensitive subjects or play to the gallery for the wrong reasons.Once that’s done and people take offence, it’s a battle worth fighting for. Creative people should not indulge in self-censorship.”

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.

The filmmaker is set to revive his documentary The Forgotten Army and turn it into a feature film
Ankur Pathak (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 21, 2015)

While he's currently filming the Salman Khan-Kareena Kapoor-starrer Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Kabir Khan, who started his career as a documentary filmmaker has already locked the subject for his next feature.

Mirror has learnt that the Kabul Express director will revive the 1997 documentary he directed, The Forgotten Army, which won him a Grand Jury prize at the Festival of South Asian documentaries in Nepal.

According to a source close to the development, Kabir will be making a fictional project inspired by the real-life events during World War 2, between the years 1942 and 1945.

"It will be told from the perspective of two army veterans, Captain Laxshmi Sehgal and Colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon, who were a part of the Indian National Army, and will take the viewers through several stages of the march of the Azad Hind Fauj," added the source.

The key character in the film will be freedom fighter Subhas Chandra Bose, under whose leadership the movement began. The film, like the documentary Kabir made earlier, will borrow from archival footage of long demolished barracks, dilapidated army headquarters and battle fields.

When contacted, Kabir refused to divulge any details, saying, "I am definitely going to make a film on the subject but it's too early to talk about it."