Top 10 Movies On Pre-Independence India

Here are some movies, which have storylines based on India's fight for Independence. If not the storyline, these movies at least have the capability to bring out our spirit of patriotism.

1. Shatranj Ke Khiladi

Year: 1977

Based on: Munshi Premchand’s novel by the same name

Screenplay/direction: Satyajit Ray

Cast: Sanjeev Kumar, Saeed Jaffrey, Shabana Azmi & Amjad Khan

This is almost a docu-drama on Pre-1857 India; it shows how the docility of India's affluent upper middle class contributed to the establishment of the British Raj. Lucknow and its Nawab Wajid Ali Shah (an exemplary performance from Amjad Khan) provide the backdrop for the story of two chess-obsessed noblemen.

The film documents the sluggishness of post-Mughal India, where kings preferred poetry to diplomacy and the durbars witnessed more mushairas and mehfils than ministerial meetings.

Though a landmark in India's period film genre, Shatranj Ke Khiladi is considered by most critics to be one of Ray's unimpressive works. It is remembered more for the voiceover done by Amitabh Bachchan than for the political insights it gave.

2. Jhansi Ki Rani

Year: 1953

Producer/director: Sohrab Modi

India’s first technicolour film, Jhansi Ki Rani, was Sohrab Modi's dream-come-true project. He brought technicians from Hollywood to work on the SFX and battle sequences.

Mehtab, the star of the year, was cast in the title role. Modi essayed the role of the Raj Guru. The film was received well by contemporary critics and it was applauded for "its authenticity in creating the right period and delineating historical events, its spectacular battle scenes and Mehtab's stirring performance though she is far too old for the role." There is a Ball sequence in the Jhansi palace, which was shot spectacularly by Modi.

In spite of the critical acclaim, the film fell flat at the box-office.

3. Junoon

Year: 1978

Based on: Ruskin Bond’s A flight of Pigeons

Screenplay and direction: Shyam Benegal

Produced by: Shashi Kapoor

Set in 1857 India, Junoon explores the romantic within the rebel and the rebel within the romantic. It is set in 1857, with the First War of Independence as its backdrop. The perspective is that of Javed Khan, one of the leaders of the Mutiny (played by Shashi Kapoor).

The film discusses the deeper truths of the rebellion. Javed Khan storms a British hideout and imprisons three British women. He falls in love with Ruth (played by Nafisa Ali) and wants her to be his second wife. The romance falls apart as British seek retribution for those killed by the rebels.

Junoon was India’s toast at most international film festivals (1978-1980), and it brought home a bagful of awards.

4. Shaheed

Year: 1965

Direction: S. Ram Sharma

Produced: Kewal Kashyap

Cast: Manoj Kumar, Prem Chopra

Bhagat Singh's life has been subject to various Bolly takes, but none has been more impressive than this 1965 film. Manoj Kumar plays Bhagat with elan.

This is the first of Manoj Kumar’s "patriotic series." Kamini Kaushal, Pran, Iftekhar, Nirupa Roy, Prem Chopra, Madan Puri, Asit Sen, Indrani Mukherjee and Anwar Hussain form the supporting cast. The film’s music is by Prem Dhawan, and all the songs became super hits.

If you are a B&W fan, you should never miss this film. Ranjod Rathore's cinematography wins both the battle and the war, for this one.

5. Mangal Pandey: The Rising

Year: 2005

Written by: Farrukh Dhondy

Directed by: Ketan Mehta

Produced by: Bobby Bedi

Cast: Aamir Khan, Toby Stevens, Rani Mukherji

Mangal Pandey: The Rising (Indian title) is the typical example of a speculative period film. It is supposed to be the biopic of a sepoy called Mangal Pandey, who had "spent the first bullet of the 1857 mutiny." Half of what we see on screen, here, is an assortment of historical fiction rather than fact.

Made on the lines of a ballad, the Ketan Mehta film failed to connect with the 21st Century Indian. This was primarily because of the fact that the premise for the film was an assumption rather than a truth.

6. Saza-e-Kalapaani

Year: 1995

Produced by: Mohanlal

Directed by: Priyadarshan

Written by: T Damodaran

Cast: Mohanlal, Tabu, Prabhu

A take on the infamous Andaman prison of the British (referred to as Kalapaani), the prime purpose of this film was to imitate Hollywood movies of the Schindler’s List hue than to depict the prison realities of 1919.

It meanders through romance, violence and slapstick before finally coming to a Titanic-like end. There is even a romantic number picturized on the female lead, inside the prison walls (the prisoner’s dream, of course!)

Spectacularly mounted and dubbed in six Indian languages, Saza-e-Kalapaani was a moderate hit both at the marquee and with the critics.

7. 1947-Earth

Year: 1998

Based on: Bapsi Sidhwa's novel Cracking India

Written/Directed by: Deepa Mehta

Produced by: Anne Mason

Cast: Aamir Khan, Rahul Khanna, Nandita Das

This is about the pent-up energies of "non-violent" India that found a vent on the eve of Independence. Deepa Mehta deftly portrays Gadar (Partition) and the first wounds of Freedom!

The film was received well both at home and across the world.

8. Saat Hindustani

Year: 1969

Produced, directed and written by: K.A. Abbas

Cast: Utpal Dutt, Amitabh Bachchan, Jalal Agha, Madhu

Saat Hindustani is known today as the debut vehicle of Amitabh Bachchan. But there is more to it than meets the eye. K.A. Abbas, inspired by Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, tells the heroic story of seven Indians, who attempt to liberate Goa from the Portuguese colonial rule. Amitabh Bachchan played one of the seven Indians (a Muslim poet) captured by "the enemy nation" as POW.

A decade later, Bachchan starred in another film titled Pukar (directed by Ramesh Behl), which again had the liberation of Goa as the theme. This time, it looked as if it was Amitabh Bachchan, the superhero, who had liberated Goa from Portuguese yoke!

9. 1942: A Love Story

Written by: Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Kamna Chandra

Produced and directed by: Vidhu Vinod Chopra

Cast: Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Manisha Koirala

The title for this movie could have been "Love in the time of Quit India Movement."

Written by: Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the screenplay oozes Mush!

1942 is considered to be the bloodiest year in India's non-violent movement against the British. But for Naren Singh (played by Anil Kapoor) and Rajeshwari Pathak (Manisha Koirala), it is the time to sing Kuch na kaho! The  villain of this tale is a psychotic British general, who lives in a castle and loves to behead Indians by the dozen.

The film is remembered today for being the swansong of R.D. Burman. The 1942… audio is pure gold.

10. Anand Math

Year: 1952

Based on: Anandamath, the famous Bengali novel, written by Bankim Chandra Chatto-padhyay in 1882

Direction: Hemen Gupta

Music: Hemant Kumar

Cast: Prithviraj Kapoor, Bharat Bhushan, Pradeep Kumar, Geeta Bali

This movie, well-made for its times, was based on the Sannyasi Rebellion in the late 1700s.The film is considered a classic of the Period Movie genre, but is not as celebrated as Bankim Chandra’s novel on which it was founded. Anand Math featured the famous Lata Mangeshkar rendition of the song, Vande Matharam.

Comic Relief: Mard

Year: 1985

Written by: Inder Raj Anand/Pushpa Raj Anand

Produced and directed by: Manmohan Desai

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Amrita Singh

Mard is the story of Raju Tangewala (Amitabh Bachchan. Who else!), who is a contemporary of Mahatma Gandhi. He gets India her freedom in the space of three hours. This he achieves after facing innumerable perils at the hands of "khoon-choosing angrez". He falls into quicksand, but is rescued by a talking dog and a thinking horse. The Angrez Hukumat puts him in the fray with his imprisoned King-Dad, and is asked to commence a gladiatorial duel. The son recognizes the father (and vice-versa) and together they bring tabahi upon the British Raj.

Manmohan Desai scrambles space and time to allude to everything related to India’s freedom struggle. A masterpiece in pop-art, Mard is the anti-dote to the one who is overfed on classic period films.