Every once in a while, Bollywood comes up with its depiction of a historical event; sometimes it’s accurate, sometimes not. This time, too, it is taking us on a ride to one of the darkest chapters of Indian history, a chapter forgotten by the masses. Filmmaker Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions will be releasing Kesari Chapter 2, a movie based on a court case following the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of April 13th 1919.
The movie stars Akshay Kumar, Ananya Panday and R Madhavan and is supposedly a demand for an apology for the “cold-blooded genocide” once committed by the British Raj. The apology the subcontinent never got.
Revisiting the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre
The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre is now a century old, yet we, South East Asians, refuse to forget it. This cold-blooded murder occurred during Baisakhi, a spring harvest festival, resulting in probably the bloodiest Baisakhi that has happened.
The genocide of approximately 500 to 600 people happened during the time of World War 1. It was when the colonial British empire was trying to control the growing nationalist surge in the subcontinent region.
In the Massacre, British Brigadier General Reginald Dyer opened fire on unarmed, peaceful protestors who had gathered there to celebrate the Baisakhi festival. The crowd was also peacefully protesting against the Rowlatt Act, passed by the British government, which limited civil liberties and demanded the release of two nationalist leaders, Saifuddin Kitchlew and Satyapal.
As many as 1,650 rounds of ammunition were fired on unarmed Indians on Sunday, April 13, 1919, at Jallianwala Bagh. The Bagh’s narrow entrance was blocked by 90 soldiers. Nobody, and we literally mean nobody, was spared, not even the kids, the women and the elderly.
Curfew had already been imposed in the city, so even if any of the hundreds of wounded wanted to leave after the brutal act was over, they were just not able to move out of the premises from where blood was flowing uninterruptedly. Thus, many of those who could have been saved succumbed to their injuries.
The Movie about the Court Case Post Massacre
The film is based on The Case That Shook the Empire: One Man’s Fight for the Truth about the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. This is a book by Raghu and Pushpa Palat that explores the defamation case filed against Sir Chettur Sankaran Nair by Sir Michael O’Dwyer, the former lieutenant governor of Punjab and the architect of the massacre. After the massacre, Governor O’Dwyer was strongly in support of the actions of General Dyer and declared this as a “rightful action” that needed to be done. He even made defamation allegations after Nair published a book about the atrocities committed by the British Raj in Punjab.
Even in the trailer, we can see Nair getting his face painted by the public due to the defamation plotted against him.
Karan Johar’s Comments
Discussing the historical context, Johar noted that Britain has never issued an official apology, which is tragic and ignorant. He even elaborated that the film was not to provoke anyone or celebrate anyone but was rather an expression of the lack of accountability from our Colonisers- the Colonisers we never signed up for.
“The film we made is neither driven by joy nor sorrow; it is fueled by anger”, said the director.
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By bringing this dark chapter to the big screen, the film not only honours the innocent lives lost but also reminds audiences of the sacrifices that shaped India’s fight for independence. With its emotional depth, historical significance, and compelling storytelling, Kesari 2 is set to ignite conversations and leave a lasting impact on viewers around the world.
Now the main question is, how authentic will this film be in its truth? Only the film’s release will be the judge of that.
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