‘Raazi’ to ‘Paltan’, B’wood Is Tripping on Desh Prem & How

It’s raining patriotism in the Hindi film industry.

Stills from Kesari, Raazi and Parmanu.

If you do a quick google check, Bollywood produced around 10 big ticket films that yelled desh bhakti from the rooftops between 2002 and 2008. Think The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002), Maa Tujhe Salaam (2002), LOC: Kargil (2003), Swades (2004), Lakshya (2004), Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo (2004), Mangal Pandey: The Rising (2005), Rang De Basanti (2006), 1971 (2007), Heroes (2008).

Cut to 2018. Set to release just this year are as many as four patriotic films, with three more next year. Coming up this month is Raazi, followed by Parmanu, Gold and Paltan. Also in the works are Kesari, Salman Khan-starrer Bharat and the just announced Karan Johar production based on the true story of Kargil war hero Vikram Batra, with Sidharth Malhotra in the lead role.

That’s an unnatural amount of on-screen desh prem, wouldn’t you agree? But then, Bollywood has always more or less been clued into the moods of the masses. And whether we agree with it or not, a kind of patriotism has caught the public imagination for sure.

So let’s take a look at these films which would presumably encourage us to stand up for the national anthem that would inevitably play before they roll, without exasperation.

Raazi

Raazi, directed by Meghna Gulzar, is based on Harinder Sikka’s novel Calling Sehmat and produced by Karan Johar and Junglee Pictures.

The film, inspired by a true story, is a thriller set during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war with Alia Bhatt playing the role of a Kashmiri spy who marries into a Pakistani family. Vicky Kaushal plays the role of a Pakistani army officer who is besotted by Alia’s character and marries her.

Release Date: 11 May 2018

Parmanu

John Abraham’s Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran revolves around India’s journey to becoming a nuclear power. It is director Abhishek Sharma’s take on the experimental nuclear explosions conducted by the Indian army on Pokhran. The film, which is embroiled in a spool of legal troubles, also stars Diana Penty and Boman Irani.

Release Date: 25 May 2018

Gold

Helmed by Reema Kagti, Gold is said to be loosely based on the life of Balbir Singh, who was a part of the team that won the first Olympic medal for India as a free nation in 1948. The film stars Akshay Kumar in the lead role along and marks the debut of Naagin fame Mouni Roy. It is being produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s Excel Entertainment.

Release Date: 15 August 2018

Paltan

A poster of Paltan.

JP Dutta is tackling another war story in Paltan, this time the 1967 Nathu La and Cho La India-China military clashes that took place along the Sikkim border. It stars Arjun Rampal, Gurmeet Choudhary, Siddhanth Kapoor, Luv Sinha and Harshvardhan Rane.

Release Date: 7 September 2018

Kesari

Akshay Kumar’s look in Kesari. (Photo courtesy: Twitter)

Starring Akshay Kumar and Parineeti Chopra, Kesari revolves around the famous 1897 battle of Saragarhi, in which 21 Sikhs of the 36th regiment of the British army (now the 4th battalion of the Sikh regiment of the Indian Army) fought with over 10,000 Afghan tribesmen. The Sikhs held their ground.

Directed by Anurag Singh and co-produced by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions, Kesari was originally supposed to star Salman Khan as well. But that fell through when Khan backed out of the project.

Release Date: 22 March 2019

Bharat

Salman Khan in a still from Tubelight. (Photo courtesy: Salman Khan Films)  

Salman Khan’s third film with Ali Abbas Zafar is a remake of the Korean film Ode to My Father. Bharat will reportedly be shot over a span of 70 years of Indian history, beginning with the Partition. The film will also star Priyanka Chopra.

Release Date: To be announced

Film Based on Kargil war hero Vikram Batra

Sidharth Malhotra in a still from Aiyaary.

The yet-to-be-named Karan Johar production is based on the true story of Kargil war hero Vikram Batra. It will star Sidharth Malhotra in the lead role.

Release Date: To be announced