On 15th August, after flag
hoisting, we have arranged a screening of movie “Sardar” in our Department of English in Maharaja
Krishnakumar Sinhji Bhavnagar University.
Here is the link of photoghaphs: Yeshabhattfbprofile
Sardar (1993 film)
Director – Ketan Mehta
Producers – H. M. Patel
Writer –Vijay Tendulkar
Starring –
Paresh Raval, Annu Kapoor, H. M. Patel,Benjamin Gilani
The film has used flashback and documentary techniques
with real footages and newspaper articles, it can be consider as a biopic on the life of Sardar Vallbhbhai Patel. All evidence related to the events is
there. In the film viewer can observe the larger than life image of Sardar
Patel, and all other characters like Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi are downplayed.
The
starting of the movie is very significant, the very first scene is of an office
of press, where the reporters are discussing about the condition of nation
after Independence; where people wanted old days of Britishraj back, and
thinking that whatever freedom fighters have done is of no use. In another
scene we can see that the photographs of Sardar Patel are shattered on the
floor and they are collecting the photographs as if they are collecting the old
memories and their lost identity among people and they decides to make film on
Sardar Patel.
All
the movements of freedom fighting related with Sardar is there in the movie,
the awakening efforts by freedom fighters are there, one of that is by singing
songs of freedom in native language,
“Don’t tolerate injustice, wake up o people”
By watching
the film we come to know about various fact of Sardar and how he was a person
and as a freedom fighter. We can see two different personalities of him, as a
person he was against Gandhi before he met him and abusing him but after one
meeting with Gandhi he became follower of Gandhi.
Sardar Patel
was very much in favour nonviolence, but when Muslim and Jinnah has started
direct action plan, he quit the idea of being non violent and sufferer. Sardar can
be considered more practical man in comparison of Gandhi and Nehru. Very effective
convincing power we can observe in Sardar, the way he convince Gandhi by saying
that,
“You are Mahatma, only you can think like this, we are
just human beings”
He also
merged 562 princely states in one country and also solved the matter of Sikhs
and Muslims.
There is good use of
various symbols in the movie:
The
very first symbol is portrait of “Bharatmata” the bounded Bharatmata’s portrait
in the office of Gandhiji, on which camera focuses again and again.
The
shattered photographs of Sardar and dust on it, that is also a significant
symbol of lost memories of Sardar.
In
the scene of violence towards Hindus in direct action plan by Jinha we can
observe that there were fire all around and in the centre of it there were Sardar
and victims of this action plan were craving for help towards Sardar, so we can
say that country was burning and only hope was Sardar. Even after the
independence most of party members have selected Sardar as the prime minister but
because of Jawaharlal Nehru Sardar Patel has taken his foot back and allowed
Nehru to be the prime minister.
The
Symbolism of three monkeys has shown in the film as a deep psyche of Sardar and
Nehru and its effect on Gandhi. In the scenes of conversations of Gandhi with
Sardar and Nehru we could see the focus of Camera is first upon white statues
of three monkeys and when there are arguments between these three characters we
could see the colour of statue is black. It is a deep archetypal symbolism of
colour.
At
the end of the movie when Gandhiji died, his dead body becomes a symbol of
friendship or we can say reunion of sardar and Nehru and at the end, after plan
crash Sardar is sitting in free India from Kashmir to Kanya kumari.
