The Legend of Bhagat Singh

The Legend of Bhagat Singh
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Rajkumar Santoshi
Produced by	Kumar Taurani; Ramesh Taurani
Written by	Rajkumar Santoshi; Piyush Mishra; Anjum Rajabali
Starring	Ajay Devgn; Sushant Singh; D. Santosh; Akhilendra Mishra
Music by	A. R. Rahman
Cinematography	K. V. Anand
Edited by	V. N. Mayekar
Distributed by	Tips Industries Limited
Release date	7 June 2002; ; ; ; ;
Running time	155 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	?200 — 250 million
Box office	?129.35 million

The Legend of Bhagat Singh is a 2002 Indian historical biographical film directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. The film is about Bhagat Singh, a socialist revolutionary who fought for Indian independence along with fellow members of the Hindustan Republic Association. It features Ajay Devgn, Sushant Singh, D. Santosh and Akhilendra Mishra as the lead characters, with Raj Babbar, Farida Jalal and Amrita Rao in supporting roles. The film chronicles Bhagat's life from his childhood where he witnesses the Jallianwala Bagh massacre until the day he was hanged—23 March 1931.

Produced by Kumar and Ramesh Taurani under their Tips Industries Limited banner on a budget of ?200 — 250 million (about US$4.15 — 5.18 million in 2002),^[b] the film's story and dialogue were written Santoshi and Piyush Mishra wrote respectively while Anjum Rajabali drafted the screenplay. K. V. Anand, V. N. Mayekar and Nitin Chandrakant Desai were in charge of the cinematography, editing and production design respectively. Principal photography took place in Agra, Manali, Mumbai and Pune from January to May 2002. The film's soundtrack, composed by A. R. Rahman, was released on 4 May 2002 to positive reception, with "Mera Rang De Basanti" and "Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna" being well-received in particular.

The Legend of Bhagat Singh was released on 7 June 2002 to positive critical reviews, with the direction, story, screenplay, technical aspects and the performances of Devgn and Sushant receiving the most attention. The film underperformed at the box office earning only ?129.35 million (US$2.68 million in 2002).^[b] It went on to win two National Film Awards — Best Feature Film in Hindi and Best Actor for Devgn — and three Filmfare Awards.

Plot[edit]

Bhagat Singh was born in British India in 1907. From childhood, he witnesses numerous atrocities committed on fellow Indians by the British, who came to trade under the guise of the East India Company and ended up controlling most of the nation. Bhagat takes a solemn vow to free India from British rule after witnessing the aftermath of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Soon after the massacre, he learns of Mahatma Gandhi's satyagraha policies, and is especially impressed by his call to launch the non-cooperation movement, which saw thousands of people burning British-made clothing, giving up school, college studies, and government jobs. In 1922, Gandhi calls off the movement after the Chauri Chaura incident. Undaunted, Bhagat decides to be a revolutionary, and, as an adult, joins the Hindustan Republic Association in its struggle for India's independence, ending up in prison for it. Bhagat's father, Kishen, bails him out so that he can get him to run a dairy farm and marry a girl named Mannewali. Bhagat runs away from home leaving a note saying that his love for the country comes first.

When Lala Lajpat Rai was beaten to death by the police while protesting against the Simon Commission, Bhagat, along with Shivaram Rajguru, Sukhdev Thapar and Chandra Shekhar Azad, carry out the assassination of a police officer named Saunders. Later in 1929, when the British proposed the Trade Disputes and Public Safety Bills, Bhagat, along with Batukeshwar Dutt, initiates the bombing at Parliament House. He and Dutt throw the bombs on empty benches thereby not killing anyone. They are subsequently arrested and tried publicly. This is when Bhagat launches his much publicised ideas of revolution, becoming as popular as Gandhi among the masses, especially the younger generation, labourers and farmers.

In Central Jail Lahore, Bhagat and other fellow prisoners, including Thapar and Rajguru, undertake a 63-day fast unto death to improve the conditions of Indian political prisoners. Meanwhile, Azad, whom the British had repeatedly failed to capture, is ambushed at the Alfred Park in Allahabad on 27 February 1931. The police surround the entire park leading to a shootout; refusing to be captured by the British, Azad commits suicide with the last remaining bullet in his Colt pistol.

The British re-open the Saunders' murder case, which leads to death sentences being imposed on Bhagat, Thapar and Rajguru. The Indians hope that Gandhi would use his pact with Irwin as a bargaining chip to save Bhagat, Thapar and Rajguru's lives. Irwin refuses Gandhi's request for their release. Gandhi reluctantly agrees to sign a pact which includes the clause: "Release of political prisoners except for the ones involved in violence". Bhagat, Thapar and Rajguru are hanged in secrecy at 7:33 pm on 23 March 1931.

Cast[edit]

Ajay Devgn as Bhagat Singh

Nakshdeep Singh as young Bhagat Singh

Sushant Singh as Sukhdev Thapar
D. Santosh as Shivaram Rajguru
Akhilendra Mishra as Chandrashekhar Azad
Raj Babbar as Kishen Singh
Farida Jalal as Vidyawati Singh
Amrita Rao as Mannewali
Mukesh Tiwari as Jailor at Central Jail Lahore
Surendra Rajan as Mahatma Gandhi
Saurabh Dubey as Jawaharlal Nehru
Kenny Desai as Subhas Chandra Bose
Sitaram Panchal as Lala Lajpat Rai
Bhaswar Chatterjee as Batukeshwar Dutt
Kapil Sharma as Shiv Verma
Indrani Banerjee as Durga Bhabhi
Amitabh Bhattacharjee as Jatin Das
Sunil Grover as a Jaidev Kapoor
Abir Goswami as Phanindra Nath Ghosh
Manu Malik as Agyaram
Ganesh Yadav as Ram Prasad Bismil
Tony Mirchandani as Ashfaqulla Khan
Rajesh Tripathi as Veerbhadra Tiwari
Lalit Tiwari as Vidyalankar
Gil Alon as Lord Irwin
Conrad as Saunders
Richard as Reginald Dyer

Production[edit]

Development[edit]

In 1998, Rajkumar Santoshi read some books on the socialist revolutionary, Bhagat Singh, and felt that a biopic would help revive interest in him.^[4] Although Manoj Kumar made an earlier film in 1965, titled Shaheed, Santoshi felt that despite being "a great source of inspiration on the lyrics and music front", it did not "dwell on Bhagat Singh's ideology and vision".^[5] Later in August 2000,^[6] Anjum Rajabali mentioned to Santoshi about his work on Har Dayal, whose revolutionary activities inspired Udham Singh. Santoshi then persuaded Rajabali to draft a scr