Genre: War escape – true story
Platform: You Tube – Free
Time : 1 Hour 49 minutes
Writer, Director: Taranjit Singh Namdhari
Cast: Raghav Rishi. Raaj Singh Arora. Asheesh Kapur
Plot: During the 1971 Indo-Pak War, Flt. Lt. Dilip Parulkar (Raghav Rishi) is shot down over Pakistan and becomes a POW. At first, he is mentally tortured but later he is kept with fellow IAF pilots, who have all been shot down during the war. Mostly, the PAF personnel treat the POWs with respect and dignity. The POWs learn of the Pakistanis’ surrender in Bangladesh. On February 4, 1972, an International Red Cross representative meets them and conveys the message that they will mostly be repatriated to India but there is no further development. Since Parulkar says “our war is not over till we reach home,” he decides to escape to India via the Pakistan-India border, which is nearer to Rawalpindi where they are kept. He is the only one who wants to escape as the other POWs are against the plan. They are sure that they all will be soon sent back to India. After some initial abortive attempts, his colleagues M.S. ‘Gary’ Grewal (Raj Singh Arora) and Harish “Harry” Sinhji (Asheesh Kapur) decide to join in the attempt by digging a hole in the wall of their prison. On August 14, 1972, they escape through the wall not eastwards towards the Indian Border, but in the opposite direction, westwards towards the Afghan Border…
When I was researching my book on Indian War films, I heard about this film from a friend who cited its exceptional authenticity. When I asked who are the stars, the reply was brilliant – all first timers but an absorbing film despite the lack of any stars. That alone should be a salute to the vision of the writer, producer, director.
Today, the film is available on You Tube and has crossed 2.3 million views. The producer-director wanted a theatrical release. but faced consistent challenges, as no distributor was prepared to take up the film, without any ‘major stars’. The film had a minimal theatrical release in 2019. Some limited theatrical views were arranged and at very odd times, during weekdays. It was later available in Amazon Prime US for a limited time and is finally now available on You Tube.
The 2.3 million+ views on You Tube shows that even though ‘regular producers and distributors may not have liked the film, the ordinary Indian has liked it. The You Tube comments, besides the jingoistic ones, are mostly positive, about a well-made film. One comment specifically mentions “being an absorbing film, despite lack of big stars and big budgets”. Exactly like what I heard from my friend.
Increasingly , ‘based on a true story’ has become an excuse for all sorts of creative nonsense, such as adding fights or events that didn’t happen (Best example is The Ghazi Attack). Here, “the real events” are told honestly, leaving us thinking, truth is indeed stranger than fiction.
Due to a lack of interest from big production houses, who have their own idea of what “war film” is , filled with screaming jingoistic dialogues and huge explosions – refer my earlier post on Border 2 – the film was crowdfunded. Since there was no major star involved, (a requirement of “Big” production houses), no heroine to be romanced, it meant that the Director could remain honest to the story and the characters, as he did not have to be bound by the “Star” and what “The Star” and his on-screen image was all about. This will not be the first or even the last time, that an honest film will face hurdles in distribution. Further, since the final escape was unsuccessful, the general feeling is always “who wants to see the Indian side losing? We want to see a victory.”
People forget that one of the great escape stories, The Great Escape (1963), showed the planning behind a mass escape that was ultimately a failure and even fatal for 50 escapees who were shot dead after being captured. So why not an Indian equivalent ? The war is with the mind and internal doubts , as much as it is against the ‘enemy’ – the Pakistani captors.
The story unfolds from the time Parulkar is captured and meets his fellow captives, including Sq. Ldr. D.S. Jafa (Tushar Phulke), one of the main brains in the planning of the 1971 air force campaign . Jafa encourages Parulkar and thus their planning begins, while the Pakistanis remain friendly but watchful.
This is probably one of the very few Indian “war” movies to show the Pakistanis as professionals and not as bloodthirsty Muslims. They are clear that the Indian pilots are as good as their own pilots. One of them, Warrant Officer Rizvi even admires the way the Indian officers led from the front and cites it as the reason for Pakistan’s defeat. Sq. Ldr. Osman treats them with decency and more like a friend than an enemy. The “brotherhood of pilots” is apparent in the way in which the Indians and Osman talk to each other – with respect and dignity. Parulkar uses that friendship to borrow a map citing a fictitious European road trip so that they can plan their escape to the Afghan border.
The Pakistanis are friendly but not fools as shown by Parulkar’s self-goal. When he complains that there is a leaky tap, Warrant Officer Rizvi promises to fix it but gets suspicious about the shaky window frame of their cell, which is sealed forever. That is when their attention shifts to the thin outer wall of their prison and is ultimately successful.
The actual escape is even more amazing and perhaps even surrealistic in that “Harry” who cannot speak a word of Hindi leave alone Punjabi, almost gives away the trio twice when he replies in English. Each time the trio is saved by “Gary” and his fluent Punjabi and his “Pathan looks” resulting in the trio almost reaching the Afghan border.
Parulkar repeatedly says it is his duty to escape while the Pakistanis make the best possible effort to keep them behind bars and do not ill-treat them. Like soldiers all over the world, the Pakistanis curse their lot and the enemy POWs they must look after – more out of the boredom of the job than any real hatred towards the enemy. That may be a letdown for most if not all filmgoers used as they are to the Anil Sharma or Sunny Deol style screaming matches and “patriotism.” There is hardly any screaming and shouting except for a brief scene, showing the new Pakistani commandant Wahid-ud-Din, who has replaced Osman, screaming at the POWs.
This is one of the few films to show the airmen wearing woolen uniforms in winter and light clothing during summer. The prisoners of war (POWs) dress are modelled on the real dresses worn by the POWs, This is perhaps the finest piece of filmmaking in recent times that tells a true story honestly, without any embellishment or melodrama giving it a docu-drama feeling. The only masala is a “dream sequence” where Harry thinks of his wife while the famous thumri “yaad piya ki aaye” , plays in he background.
Just before the end credits, the real heroes Parulkar, Jafa and Grewal are on-screen and share about what they did . This is a highly unusual film , not necessarily about a defeat (since the trio were captured) , but about the “never say die/ never give up” attitude of the trio. This is an absolutely honest film that deserved a theatrical release but if the You Tube views are anything to go by, it has been appreciated by a wide discerning audience.
The film is free on You Tube
Real history / Events : 5
Script – 4 out of 5
Story – 4 out of 5
Direction – 5 out of 5
Photography – 4 out of 5
Total – 4.4 out of 5
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