It's that time of the year again when India beams with pride and nationalistic fervor. Her achievements are recounted and triumphant stories of its brave citizen garners well-deserved coverage.
Here's to August 15, 1947, India's Independence Day, an occasion to celebrate the innumerable freedom fighters without whose sacrifices liberty would remain a distant dream. And since art imitates life so intently, quite a few Hindi films have paid tribute to their exemplary lives on screen with glorious on-screen accounts.
Here then, is your chance to VOTE for the best film adaptations of India's most-esteemed patriotic figures.
Bose: The Forgotten Hero
Shyam Benegal's Bose covers the making of charismatic Indian leader Subhas Chandra Bose and his endeavors to freed India from British reign and how his methods weren't compatible with the diplomatic ideology of Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Nehru compelling him to go his own way.
Actor Sachin Khedekar delivered his career best performance in and as Bose.
Mangal Pandey: The Rising
Ketan Mehta's biopic about a sepoy who contributed to the Indian Mutiny of 1857 is best-remembered for Aamir Khan's moustache-ridden portrayal and a grand production design.
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Khele Hum Jee Jaan Se
After evoking patriotic sentiments in films like Lagaan and Swades, Ashutosh Gowariker adapted Manini Chaterjee's book Do and Die, which talks about the events leading to 1930's Chittagong Uprising to capture police armoury piloted by freedom fighter Surjya Sen, played by Abhishek Bachchan and his comrades.
The Legend of Bhagat Singh
Ajay Devgn went on to receive his second National Award trophy for a soul-stirring performance as the fiery young freedom fighter Bhagat Singh who, along with his companions Sukhdev, Rajguru and the support of Chandrashekhar Azad, made quite a few significant spokes in the British wheel in Rajkumar Santoshi's well-received drama.
Sardar
While Mangal Pandey may have missed the point, Ketan Mehta's stunning biopic Sardar, written by Vijay Tendulkar, captured the layers and tenacity of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel with amazing detailing through Paresh Rawal's gritty performance that showed us just why he was the Iron Man of India.
Gandhi
Technically (and ironically), it's a joint production between England and Indian film industry. But the allure of Sir Richard Attenborough's Oscar-winning Gandhi (an unbelievably authentic Ben Kingsley), which covers the glory of India's most revered pacifist, is so religiously played out on every Indian Independence celebration, it's hard to not regard it as our own.
Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar
Jurist, philosopher, political leader, Jabber Patel's Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar strives to showcase the versatile persona of the icon and his contribution in building the constitution of India. Actor Mammootty, along with art director Nitin Chandrakant Desai, won a National Award for this film.
Shaheed
Manoj Kumar's Shaheed, also a retelling of martyr Bhagat Singh's valiant tale, is memorable for many reasons. Besides its terrific portrayal and memorable dialogues, it depicted noted villains Prem Chopra and Pran in a positive light and kick started Manoj Kumar's journey as Bollywood's iconic Bharat.
The Making of Mahatma
Given there's already such a landmark film on Bapu, Shyam Benegal concentrated on the early episodes of the Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi's life, essayed by Rajit Kapoor, while he was a barrister in England and South Africa and the hostilities that compelled him into embracing the path to India's struggle for freedom.
Veer Savarkar
Ved Rahi's little-seen film on Vinayak Damodar Savarkar -- or Veer Savarkar as he is fondly addressed -- aims to explore the ideals behind a revolutionary turned propagator of Hindutva with theatre actor Shailendra Gaur playing the title role.
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