KHJJS – Brave hearts at thirteen….

We are so immersed in our selfish ways today that we rarely acknowledge or tend to remember those who laid down their lives for us. With a bit of embarrassment I do admit that I had no knowledge of children laying down their lives for our freedom today, if not for Ashutosh Gowariker’s latest movie ” Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey” which takes us back in time and tells us a story of struggle and liberation. A movie that unfolds the untold story of “ a band of sixty four – fifty six innocent yet fearless young boys, 5 defiant revolutionaries, 2 determined young women, and an idealistic leader – Surjya Sen, a school teacher by profession”

The story is set in 1930 in the sleepy port of Chittagong, the province of undivided Bengal. A group of children who are booted by the British for playing football form the backbone of the uprising that this laid back town witnesses. Anguished at the occupation of their playing field and the snatching away of their freedom by the British Company they seek support of the acclaimed freedom fighter, an active member of the Indian National Congress and school teacher from Chittagong,  Surjya Sen (aka Masterda ). Surjya Sen is impressed by the fervid and impassioned urge of the teenage boys to expel the British from their turf and together “This group represents a little-known chapter in history; a forgotten night that reigned terror on the British through a series of calculated attacks. Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey is a true story of these forgotten heroes and the narrative takes us through every step of the action from the initial trepidation,to the thrill of the attack, to the underground movement, daring escapes and tragic captures, and most importantly, their undying legacy.”

The film is based on the book ‘DO and DIE: The Chittagong Uprising 1930-34’ by Manini Chatterjee. In most parts the movie reminds one of “Lagaan”. From the pro nationalistic agenda to the anti – British sentiments to the costumes, the settings and even the “game” which results in most of the “uprising” in the movie. The movie is undoubtedly an anecdotal representation of a series of events that were planned rather meticulously for those “times” that resulted in the revolution. The first half of the movie introduces the ” revolutionaries ”  in a very casual yet endearing manner. The Director could have emphasized a bit more on the bonding and interplay between the  members before breaking them up into their respective groups for the planned attacks. The second half is more racier than the first and the Director does a remarkable job in allowing the narrative to do full justice to the anguish of the revolutionaries after their plans have been foiled. The editing is a bit tardy in places and leaves the audience guessing of the aftermath. The music is quite good and the background scores in certain places are exhilarating. The song “Naiyn Tere”  is refreshingly innocent.The camera shots are fabulous and especially the crane shots makes one feel like a swooping eagle.

Abhishek Bachchan as Surjya Sen is marvelous. He comes across as affable , far thinking and a non assuming revolutionary leader . He is not seen as somebody overtly aggressive and why would he given that he is a school teacher by profession turned into a revolutionist. Understandably , I gather that Surja Sen too would have been a complex and enigmatic person and Abhishek appears to effortlessly mould himself into Surjya’s character. He displays the school teacher charm yet manages to have very strong revolutionary convictions. The enigma and conviction displayed by the character allows the audience to sympathize with Surjya for allowing children to participate in the dangerous uprisings. Credit must be given to Abhishek who has accepted this rather off beat role. He has played it superbly and proved yet again that he is one of the rare Actors who has displayed tremendous amount of versatility over the last few years. Undoubtedly, he continues to mature like fine wine. “Stereotyping” is one  word which cannot fit into his dictionary and credibly so. One must watch out for the last scene of the movie, this is the time when Abhishek Bachchan’s stellar acting abilities fully comes to fructification.More than Deepika Padukone who tries extremely hard to appear simplistic as the revolutionist Kalpana Dutta, Vishaka Singh as Pritilata Waddedar is more impressive. Additionally, the not so famous Mahender Singh as Ananta Singh is a natural and I hope he gets more opportunities to prove his acting prowess.

The theatre in which I watched the movie yesterday barely had twenty people in the audience and this was the first show. Unfortunately the publicity and the marketing for this movie has been less than adequate which has resulted in barely any word of mouth being generated in the hallowed hallways of social networking sites. Why does a story played out in 1930 not interest us anymore? We savor all the freedom that we have today and yet why is it so boring to hear and watch the struggles of those who laid down their lives for us and that too children? Did this movie not ignite patriotism? Maybe it did not as much as the cricket in Lagaan did. Certainly the story of Surjya Sen is one important part of history which did not make it to our text books. I am glad that there are still some film makers who think it is important to educate us. They are not in plenty but thankfully they are there.  I am not somebody who enjoys watching children turning aggressive and picking up arms albeit even if it was for India’s freedom just like children taking to arms in the Middle East today are most certainly not to be appreciated either. But children revolting against the British and laying down their lives for your freedom and mine today is a humbling, factual incident which deserves to be narrated via cinema for a wider reach.

Director : Ashutosh Gowariker

Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Vishaka Singh, Sikhander Kher, Mahinder Singh

Music: Sohail Sen

Rating: ****