THE RISE OF THE PATRIOTIC BOLLYWOOD MOVIE

As we gear up for the upcoming Independence Day melas and look back at our own I-Day editions of the past several years, some of our team at Indian Link got understandably nostalgic about the motherland. A coffee-break conversation at our office turned into a discussion about the increasing number of patriotic movies that Bollywood has been churning out, especially over the past few months. Inevitably, lists were made. Here are a few of the movies we thought of. Have we missed any?

PARMANU: THE STORY OF POKHRAN (MAY 2018)

Directed by Abhishek Sharma, starring John Abraham, Diana Penty and Boman Irani. Loosely based on the nuclear bomb test explosions conducted by the Indian Army at Pokhran in 1998, Parmanu offered a fictional version of the events in India’s recent history, when the country was on the verge of becoming a full-fledged nuclear state.

RAAZI (MAY 2018)

Directed by Meghna Gulzar, starring Alia Bhatt.

With a super hit song (Dilbaro) and an Alia Bhatt dialogue that tugs right at your patriotic core (Vatan ke aage kuch nahin… Khud bhi nahin), Raazi was an adaptation of Harinder Sikka’s 2008 novel Calling Sehmat, which itself was a true account of a RAW agent married into a Pakistani family of military officials to essentially spy on Pakistan, prior to the Indo-Pak War of 1971.

GOLD (AUGUST 2018)

Directed by Reema Kagti, starring Akshay Kumar, Mouni Roy, Kunal Kapoor, Vineet Kumar Singh, Amit Sadh and Sunny Kaushal.

The first Bollywood film ever to release in Saudi Arabia, Gold is about the journey of a man who was instrumental in India winning its first Olympic gold medal (for hockey) post-independence. Arjuna Award winner and former Indian national hockey team captain, Sandeep Singh, trained the actors with their hockey skills.

URI: THE SURGICAL STRIKE (JANUARY 2019)

Directed by Aditya Dhar, starring Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Mohit Raina and Yami Gautam.

A dramatised account that follows Major Vihaan Singh Shergill (Vicky Kaushal) of the Indian Army, Uri: The Surgical Strike chronicles the events of the surgical strike that the Indian military carried out against suspected militants in PoK after the 2016 Uri strike. The famous dialogue from the movie - “How’s the josh? High sir!” – is unlikely to be forgotten anytime soon.

MANIKARNIKA – THE QUEEN OF JHANSI (JANUARY 2019)

Directed by Radha Krishna Jagarlamudi, starring Kangana Ranaut. Who doesn’t admire the story of Rani Lakshmibai, India’s very own Joan of Arc and one of the leading figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the British Rule? Ranaut portrayed the fierce warrior of Jhansi who refused to cede Jhansi to the British. Her strength and bravery are legendary. Expectedly, this movie has patriotism in heaps.

KESARI (MARCH 2019)

Directed by Anurag Singh, starring Akshay Kumar with Parineeti Chopra.

A period drama based on the inspiring true life story of the Battle of Saragarhi in 1897, Kesari brought to the big screen the event where an army of 21 Sikhs fought to defend the North-West Frontier Province against a 10,000-strong invading Afghan army.

BHARAT (JUNE 2019)

Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar, starring Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Tabu, Sunil Grover, Disha Patani and Jackie Shroff.

The official adaptation of the Korean film An Ode to My Father, this Salman Khan juggernaut depicted recentish Indian history (1950s to present day) through the life of an ordinary man. Salman Khan played the lead character over a span of 50 years. Seeing Salman as an 18 year old requires a huge suspension of belief, but nonetheless, Bharat provided a huge dose of patriotism for Khan’s army of fans.