The Legend of Bhagat Singh

The Legend of Bhagat singh
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Rajkumar Santoshi
Produced by	Kumar Taurani Ramesh Taurani
Screenplay by	Anjum Rajabali
Starring	Ajay Devgan Raj Babbar Sushant Singh
Music by	A. R. Rahman
Cinematography	K. V. Anand
Editing by	V. N. Mayekar
Distributed by	Tips Industries Limited
Release date(s)	June 7, 2002
Running time	155 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Box office	Rs. 4,75,00,000

The Legend of Bhagat Singh is a 2002 Hindi historic biographical film about Bhagat Singh, a freedom fighter who fought for Indian independence. It was directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and starred Ajay Devgan, Sushant Singh, and Ian Davies. It was released on 7 June 2002 and went on to win two National Film Awards, including the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi, and three Filmfare Awards, including the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie.

The Legend of Bhagat Singh shows in detail how Singh came to develop his views on the British Raj and his struggle for Indian independence. The film begins with scenes depicting how the British attempted to dispose of Singh's body, so that he could not be made into a martyr, and then flashbacks to the past to tell his story. A historical feel was created by using a sepia tint throughout the film.

Plot

Bhagat Singh was born in British India in 1907. As a child he witnessed numerous atrocities committed on fellow Indians by their British rulers, who came to trade under the guise of the East India Company, but ended up controlling most of the nation, and permitting tyrants such as General Reginald Dyer to massacre thousands of innocent men, women and children in Jallianwala Bagh. As a child he was impressed by Mohandas K. Gandhi, especially his call to launch the non-cooperation movement, which led to thousands of people burning British-made clothing, giving up school, college studies, and government jobs — only to be let down by Gandhi when he called off the movement. Undaunted, Bhagat Singh (Ajay Devgan) decided to be a revolutionary, starting with getting into petty fights, then as a grown-up joining the Hindustan Republic Association. His father, Kishan, paid Rs.60,000/- and bailed him out, so that he could get him to run a dairy-farm and get married to a girl named Manavali.

When Lala Lajpat Rai was beaten to death by the police, Bhagat, with Shivaram Rajguru, Sukhdev, and others daringly carried out the assassination of a police officer named Saunders, which eventually led to Bhagat's arrest. He was lodged in a cell, tortured and beaten mercilessly. But being a revolutionary was in Bhagat's blood: When the British proposed the Trade Disputes and Public Safety Bills, he initiated the bombing in the Indian Parliament Building, with Batukeshwar Dutt, was arrested, and tried in an open court. This is where Bhagat launched his much-publicized revolution, and became popular with the masses, especially the younger generation, laborers, and farmers, so much so that his popularity rivaled that of Gandhi himself.

Even in Lahore prison, Bhagat made headline news when he and other prisoners undertook a 63-day fast unto death to improve the conditions of Indian freedom-fighter prisoners. Then the British re-opened the Saunders' murder case, which led to death sentences being imposed on Bhagat, Shivram, and Sukhdev. The entire nation rose up in protest, including the Congress party — with the ball in Gandhi's court — for he was due to sign the Irwin Pact, and Indians hoped that he would use this as a bargaining chip to save the lives of the heroic trio. But history tells us that as Gandhi plainly refused to help these legends.

Cast

• Ajay Devgn as Bhagat Singh
• Sushant Singh as Sukhdev
• Amrita Rao as Mannewali
• Indrani Banerjee as Durga Bhabhi
• D. Santosh as Shivram Hari Rajguru
• Akhilendra Mishra as Chandrashekhar Azad
• Amitabh Bhattacharjee as Jatin Das
• Gil Alon as Lord Irwin
• Raj Babbar as Sardar Kishan Singh
• Rajesh Tripathi as Veerbhadra Tiwari (betrayer of C.S. Azad)
• Mishra as Parghat Singh Khalon aka Jailor
• Ganesh Yadav as Ramprasad Bismil
• Abir Goswami as Fanindra Nath Ghosh
• Manu Malik as Agya Ram
• Tony Mirchandani as Ashfaqulla Khan
• Surendra Rajan as Mahatma Gandhi
• Saurav Dubey as Jawaharlal Nehru
• Sitaram Panchal as Lala Lajpat Rai
• Mukesh Tiwari as Jailor
• Kapil Sharma as Shiv Verma
• Ian Davies as Policeman
• Joseph Howlett as Extra

Soundtrack

The Legend of Bhagat Singh
Soundtrack album by A. R. Rahman
Released	May 2002 (India)
Recorded	Panchathan Record Inn
Genre	Film soundtrack
Label	TIPS
Producer	A.R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman chronology
Kannathil Muthamittal (2002) The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002) Baba (2002)

Lyrics: Sameer, Music: A. R. Rahman

Song	Artist(s)
"Mera Rang De Basanti"	Sonu Nigam, Manmohan Waris
"Pagdi Sambhal Jatta"	Sukhwinder Singh, Ian Davies
"Mahive Mahive"	Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan
"Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna"	Sonu Nigam
"Dil Se Niklegi"	Sukhwinder Singh
"Shora So Pahchaniye"	Karthik, Raqueeb, Sukhwinder Singh
"Desh Mere Desh"	A.R.Rahman, Sukhwinder Singh
"Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna – Reprise"	Sonu Nigam, Hariharan
"Kasam Tumko Watan"	Sukhwinder Singh
"Jogiya Jogiya"	Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Reena Bharadwaj

Awards

Filmfare Awards

• Critics Award for Best Movie – Raj Kumar Santoshi
• Best Background Score – A.R.Rahman

National Awards

• Best Regional Film (Hindi) – Raj Kumar Santoshi
• Best Actor – Ajay Devgan

Zee Cine Awards

• Zee Cine Award Best Action – Allan Amin
• Best Background Music – A.R.Rahman
• Best Dialogue – Raj Kumar Santoshi, Piyush Mishra, Ranjit Kapoor
• Best Editing – A.V.Mayeker
• BFJA Awards, Best Actor - Ajay Devgn

Release and reception

The Legend of Bhagat Singh's release coincided with another based on Bhagat Singh, 23rd March 1931: Shaheed which starred Bobby Deol in the lead role. Both were disasters at box office, although the film won rave reviews.^{[citation needed]}

External links

• The Legend of Bhagat Singh at the Internet Movie Database
• The Legend of Bhagat Singh at AllRovi
• The Legend of Bhagat Singh at rottentomatoes