Indian Republic Day, the Bollywood Way

One of the best movies directed in the history of Indian Cinema, is the Aamir Khan starrer, Rang De Basanti. For the first time, we can say that the movie is a remarkable blockbuster not only because it has Mr. Perfectionist featured as the protagonist, but because of the logic and realism in the storyline. The movie released on the Indian Republic Day, 26th January 2006, already marking its relation to the event. The plot focused on a group of youngsters working to make a British documentary for a friend. Ultimately, the documentary which was just another story for them, becomes a turning point in their lives after a close friend cum brother gets killed in an aircraft crash which the government officials wrongly claimed to be a mistake of the pilot. This incident rose an anti-corruption fight among the civilians, who wanted to prove and punish the government ministers for the use of cheap spare parts in the Indian Air Force air crafts, which resulted in the death of a loyal Indian lieutenant. Rang De Basanti is a movie based on the real freedom fighters, who fought and died, in order to serve justice and independence for local Indian civilians.

 

Another one in line is a movie which directly pointed fingers at the Indian Constitutional Policy on allowing caste based reservations in government jobs, as well as government educational institutions. Aarakshan, staring Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, and Manoj Bajpayee in pivotal roles, was hugely criticized by the political officials of India, and was also banned in various States for a certain period. It however, passed a very strong message that education should be provided equally to one and all; only those with a fairly good academic merit deserve special treatment, and not those who hail from a rich or influential families.

 

Prakash Raj, best known for his politically thrilling movies, was the mastermind behind the 2010 mega hit flick, Raajneeti. The title literally translates as "Politics" and it gave a clear picture of what happens in the world of greed, whether it is between two opposition parties, or two brothers. The blockbuster featured Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Rampal and Manoj Bajpayee as the leads. The plot focuses on how two brothers built a strong government which later collapses owing to the fight for power within the family members themselves. "Where there is power, there is abuse of power." - This motion was closely examined in Raajneeti, and almost every relationship of characters in the movie was solely for retaining power. The movie also shed light on various crimes such as murder, rape, corruption, and encounters by the police based on wrong accusations. Hence initially, the movie received a lot of controversial negative reviews by politicians, but it was announced a blockbuster at the Box Office India, and was very well appreciated by the audience in India and overseas.

 

Sarkar and Sarkar Raj, are both based on the political games played by officials, owing to power and greed. Both movies focus on the world of politics and crime; and how such activities have really affected India as a country. From street crimes to Mafia rulings, and corrupted government ministers, both movies give a clear vision of the political face of India. Directed under the reign of Ram Gopal Verma, this movie was claimed to be controversial since it indirectly targeted a few known politicians. However as a defense to his words, Verma stated that Sarkar was purely a work of fiction, based on the American hit flick, The Godfather.

The most recent in the list is Satyagraha, yet another inspirational movie covering a few chapters of the Indian political life. The title of the movie was loosely developed by Mahatma Gandhi, and means "insisting on the truth". Based on an idealist man; Amitabh Bachchan's struggle to seek justice for his son, who was brutally murdered, the story revolves around how each day unveiled a new political game being played the powerful ministers in order to retain their power and greed for money. There comes a turn of events where the civilians unite against the politicians and demand all the pending government issues to be sorted without the payment of illegal bribery. It becomes a tough situation towards the end, but with the death of Amitabh Bachchan's character, the state gets a new ray of hope, which diminishes the supremacy of corrupted ministers to make India a truly free nation.

 

The aforementioned movies are just a few amongst many which have depicted the face of politics in India. Rann, Nayak, Yuva, and Gangaajal are also considered strong contenders for portraying a drama which is based on real incidents that have taken place in India, before and after the new Constitution was formed.