Bhuj: Portrayal of Patriotism and Valour of Indian Women
What if I told you that the courage of Indian women shaped the destiny of the 1971 war? or what if I told you that a large part of western India is still integrated due to the valour of 300 women?
Total Views |
- Sankalp Mishra
What if I told you that the courage of Indian women shaped the destiny of the 1971 war? or what if I told you that a large part of western India is still integrated due to the valour of 300 women? If you don’t know the Bhuj incident of 1971 war then you might consider me to be a lunatic muttering absolute nonsense. Watch the movie ‘Bhuj: The Pride Of India’ to know the truth about how the valour of 300 women mostly from Madhapur village in Bhuj turned the 1971 war on its head. The movie brings the pride, valour, sacrifice of these women to the cinematic space. The essence of the movie lies in the characters and the story around it. The movie is inspired from an event that happened during the 1971 war. The incident took place on 8th December, 1971, when Pakistan bombed the airstrip in Bhuj. This created a major hurdle in carrying forward IAF activities in the region. IAF wanted to rebuild the strip with the help of BSF jawans but there were not enough jawans to complete the task. At that moment, the people, especially the women of Madhapur village in Bhuj helped the IAF to rebuild the airstrip in almost 72 hours. The movie is a portrayal of the patriotism and valour of those women of Bhuj. Though creative freedom is at full display in the recreation of the entire incident, the movie scores big in its gripping climax that leaves the audience satiated till the last frame.
The storyline can be divided into three segments, the first segment revolves around bombing of an airfield in Bhuj and the plot of Pakistan army to capture the western front of India which can be used to negotiate with India for the land in East pakistan, the second segment gives an insight into the lives and circumstances of the brave women of Bhuj and the different characters of the movie and the third part is the climax where the story reaches its emotional end. I am not revealing much of the storyline for the audience to witness it first hand. The plot is finely woven and the characters fit into their defined clutches smoothly. The cinematography and the action sequences hold the audience for the large part of the movie. However, the biggest winner in the movie are its dialogues. The same dialogues would send the audience in a frenzy in a fully packed cinema hall. Some honorable mentions are “Tajmahal pyaar ki nishani hai..toh hindustan tere baap ki kahani hai'' delivered most dramatically by Ajay Devgan. Ajay Devgan delivers another gem “Maratha sirf do hi baat janta hai, maarna ya marna”. The dialogues of leading ladies of the movie aren’t far behind as well. The dialogue “mai rahu ya na rahu mere hindustan ko salamat rakhna” by Nora Fatehi or even “Jab tak ye suraj chanda chamke tab tak ye hindustan rahe” by Sonakshi strike all the right nationalitic chords. Also, the rendition of “Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamare dil mein hai” by Sharad Kelkar and Sanjay Dutt leaves the audience mesmerised. However, the pure gold is the monologue of “Mera naam hai sipahi” by Ajay Devgan. The last four lines of the monologue, “Mere marne ka matam mat karna, maine khud ye shahadat chuni hai, mai jeeta hu marne ke liye, mera naam hai sipahi”, gives goosebumps.
The characters played by Ajay Devgan, Sanjay Dutt, Sharad Kelkar, Sonakshi Sinha, Ammy Virk and Nora Fatehi all remain with you after the movie. Ajay Devgan plays the character of Squadron Leader Vijay Karnik who led the entire mission of rebuilding the airstrip in Bhuj air base. Sanjay Dutt plays the role of a scout Ranchordas Pagi who helped the Indian army in the war. Sharad Kelkar delivers in the role of RK Nair. Sonakshi Sinha plays the role of a Gujrathi woman who leads other women to help the soldiers in rebuilding the air strip and Nora Fatehi shines in her small part as a spy. The characters though inspired from real life but the movie is majorly fictional in depiction. The movie has been criticised for its patriotic overtones but the movie touches the right chord by the end and tries its best to do justice to the Bhuj incident that shaped the future of India after 1971.
The background score gets the adrenaline pumping and the songs touch the patriotic chords. The song ‘Desh Mere’ with lyrics from Manoj Muntashir leaves the audience spellbound. The lyrics ‘ Oh desh mere, teri shaan pe sadke, koi dhan hai kya teri dhul se badhke..'' leaves the audience teary eyed with a satiated smile. The visual effects of the movie make up for a gripping viewing and the fighter pilot sequences do not look out of sync. The overall direction of the movie is good. The movie could have been better in terms of the script and editing. There are some loose ends which allow the audience's attention to slip. Also, a little more attention could have been given to character building and weaving of story around the characters. But, as an audience apart from minor glitches the movie accounts for a good viewing.
The movie would have definitely scored big in single screens with all the patriotic dialogues resonating with the audience. The movie puts forward an untold chapter of Indian valour and courage. The movie tries to bring another tale of women's resistance and courage to the cinematic space. Watch the movie to get the overall essence of the entire incident. Watch the movie for all its thunderous dialogues. Watch the movie to reignite the feeling of patriotism and nationalism and most of all watch the movie to realise the freedom and pride that we hold so dear today comes at the cost of many such untold stories of sacrifice, grit, determination and valour.
(Author: Sankalp Mishra is an engineer, lawyer, entrepreneur and an IIT-Kharagpur alumnus.)
.
.