War is said to be the result of the wrong policies adopted by rulers and it is not the army alone which dies in a war, but each and every citizen has to suffer in different forms. Therefore, defending the borders is the collective responsibility of all. The movies produced in post Independence era perfectly displayed this message generating patriotic spirit and exhorting the policymakers too for their wrong decisions.
This is a fact that all the wars India fought after August 1947 were imposed on us and the wrong decisions by our then rulers failed to achieve the desired results. Whether it was the war of 1947 when Pakistani soldiers in the guise of Kabailis attacked Kashmir, 1962 war when China attacked us and illegally occupied big part of our territory, or the wars with Pakistan in 1965, 1971 and 1999 all proved it. The movies produced on these themes in later years highlighted these facts.
Chinese Aggression of 1962
Haqeeqat (the Reality) was the first war movie produced in post Independence era. It is rather the first and unarguably finest war movie to date and became a yardstick for subsequent Hindi movies based on the war. Produced in 1964 with government assistance by Chetan Anand, it is a portrayal of heroic resistance put up by the Indian Army against invading Chinese troops in Ladakh sector. Though we lost huge area of our territory, the movie glorified the valour of our soldiers who fought in the remote outpost. A platoon of Indian soldiers was presumed dead in the mountains following heavy fighting and a wrong impression had been created in the psyche of the people about them. The film’s memorable moments include an Indian soldier driving a bayonet through a copy of Mao’s Little Red Book and on-screen denunciation of documentary footage showing Chou En-Lai being garlanded with an honour guard on arrival in Delhi. Added bonus is Rafi’s magnificent Kar Chale Hum Fida… one of the most intensely nostalgic patriotic songs ever. Dharmendra, Priya Rajvansh, Vijay Anand, Balraj Sahni and Sanjay Khan played the lead roles.
Then came Khamoshi in 1969. The B&W movie directed by Asit Sen and starring Rajesh Khanna and Waheeda Rehman, portrayed nursing of the injured soldiers in Ladakh during 1962 war. Similarly, the setting in Sangam was also the 1962 war. Produced in 1964, it was directed and acted by Raj Kapoor.
Pak Invasion (1965)
Starring Sanjeev Kumar, Rakesh Roshan, Rekha, Ashok Kumar, Asrani, Rajesh Khanna and Farida Jalal, Aakraman was based on Indo-Pak war of 1965. Besides a romantic drama produced in 1975 by J Om Prakash the movie also showcased the emotional remembrance of a father for his son who died in the war. It also highlighted the bravery and courage of Indian soldiers and airmen during the last days of the 1971 war when India defeated Pakistan and with this East Pakistan was finished and Bangladesh was created.
Indo-Pak War (1971)
Produced in 1973 by Chetan Anand, Hindustan Ki Qasam was shot in 1972-73, immediately after the 1971 Indo-Pak war. The movie has an all-star cast including Raj Kumar, Priya Rajvansh, Vijay Anand, Balraj Sahni, Amrish Puri and Amjad Khan. A must watch movie even now it has plenty of dogfights and bombing featuring Sukhoi-7’s, Mig-21’s, Sabres, Gnats etc. The Mig-21 stunts in the movie were done by Flt Lt Samar Shah and Flt Lt Manbir Singh. Similarly, in Silsila, produced and directed by Yash Chopra in 1981, the setting was 1971 Indo-Pak war. It has an all star cast including Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Rekha, Sanjeev Kumar and Shashi Kapoor.
Produced by JP Dutta in 1997, Border was also based on Indo-Pak war of 1971. The movie is an adaptation from real life events that happened at the battle of Longewala fought in Rajasthan in 1971. It is a thrilling account of a band of 150 soldiers of Punjab regiment of Indian army who successfully defended their post all night against a whole Tank regiment of the Pakistani Army, until assistance came from the Indian Air Force the next morning. The song, Sandese Aate Hain…. by Roop Kumar Rathod and Sonu Nigam became very popular. Released in 1982, Vijeta too focused on 1971 Indo-Pak war. Vijeta was a tribute to the IAF in celebration of its golden jubilee. Produced in 2007, the 1971 is an account of the escape of six soldiers of the Indian Army taken as prisoners of war by Pakistan Army during the 1971 Indo-Pak war. It is based on a true story of prisoners of war.
Kargil War (1999)
Kargil war was fought in 1999 when the Pakistani soldiers, in the guise of armed infiltrators, intruded large part of Kargil area in Kashmir. The LoC Kargil, produced in 2003, perfectly displayed it. Similarly, released in 2002, Maa Tujhe Salam, shows Indian soldiers successfully fighting against terrorists on the border and continues to defend the country at all costs. Similarly, Dhoop (2003) is based on the events surrounding the death of Capt Anuj Nayyar of 17 Jat Regiment of the Indian Army, who was killed in operations against Pakistani Army regular soldiers, in the southwest sector of Tiger Hill on July 5, 1999 as part of the Kargil war. The story of the Kapoor family in the film depicts the real events that happened in the lives of the Nayyar family.
Proxy wars
Apart from the direct wars, the cross border terrorism, or proxy war, is also no less than a full-fledged war that India has been fighting for over two decades. It not only claimed the lives of thousands of innocent people but also displaced lakhs of people from their homeland. Produced in 1999, Sarfarosh dealt with an Indian police officer’s fight to stop cross-border terrorism. The film was released at the time of Kargil war. It was remade in Kannada as Sathyameva Jayathe with Devaraj and in Telugu as Astram with Vishnu Manchu.
Similarly, Maachis (1996) portrayed the circumstances surrounding the rise of insurgency in Punjab in the 1980s and traced the transformation of a youth from a boy next door to a dreaded terrorist bent on wreaking vengeance. The movie looked back at the Punjab problem and tried to figure out some of the root causes. It warned that, in the future, there could be many more Punjabs burning and suffering for years. Similarly, Zameen is based on the story of the Islamic terrorists who, backed by Pakistan, attacked the Indian Parliament. The original plot of the film was based upon the rescue mission took by IDF in 1976 at Entebbe Uganda, where IDF rescued 102 hostages taken by PLO and Neo Nazis.
Regional Movies
Not only in Hindi, but also in many other languages of the country the war movies were produced in plenty. Burma Rani (Tamil), produced by Modern Theatres in 1945 is based on the Second World War. Similarly, Saat Hindustani (1969) portrays the heroic story of seven Indians who attempt to liberate Goa from the Portuguese colonial rule. The cast included Utpal Dutt, Madhu, AK Hangal and Amitabh Bachchan, who made his debut with this film. Bachchan played one of the Indians captured by the Portuguese opponent as PoW. Malayalam movie Keerthi Chakra (2006) is based on true events related to insurgency in Kashmir. The political situation of the conflict is portrayed from an Indian perspective in the film. The film was dubbed into Tamil as Aran. Kurukshetra (2008) is a sequel to the Keerthi Chakra. The film is based on the Kargil war of 1999. The series’ third part, Kandahar was released in December 2010.
The list of the war movies is endless. The major contribution of such movies is that they perfectly showcased the highly adverse circumstances in which the soldiers fight at the borders, and how the rulers, sitting in air-conditioned rooms kept on compromising their valour. We got the opportunities of taking back our land illegally occupied by Pakistan in 1965 and 1971when our soldiers went deep into PoK or we made hostage over 90,000 Pak soldiers, but our rulers then lost those opportunities either at negotiation tables or declaring unilateral ceasefire. Many such facts have perfectly been highlighted by these movies.
—Pramod Kumar
Some prominent movies with war theme
p Haqeeqat, 1962 Indo-China war (1964)
p Sangam, 1962 Indo-China war (1964)
p Khamoshi, 1962 Indo-China war (1969)
p Prem Pujari, 1965 war (1965)
p Upkaar, 1965 war (1967)
p Hindustan Ki Kasam, 1971 war (1973)
p Aakraman, 1971 war (1975)
p Vijeta, 1971 war (1982)
p Border, 1971 war (1997)
p Mission Kashmir, Kashmir struggle (2000)
p LOC Kargil, Kargil war (2003)
p Lakshya, Kargil war (2004)
p Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo (2004)
p Tango Charlie (2005)
p Border Hindustan Ka (2003)
p Sarfrosh, (1999)
p Maachish, (1996)
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