Bollywood Film makers have always been very patriotic to the core and to commemorate each Independence Day they have been making films based on patriotic themes. In fact since the indian film makers too wanted to be free from the Britishers rule they had already started making patriotic films much before our country gained independence in the year 1947. And if we can recollect correctly the 1st ever patriotic film made in India was in the year 1931 and the patriotic films made in the those period were films like The Sword of Allah, Azaad Hindustan, Tiranga Jhenda, Swatantra Bharat et al to be followed by scores of such films but obviously one can’t recollect all the names of patriotic films made in those times. But of course some of the best films were Shaheed, Pukar, Purab Aur Paschim, The Making Of Mahatma Gandhi made by Shyam Benegal if we can recollect it correctly. But the best of film made during that period was made by a foriegn director named Richard Attenborough who gave a gem of film to the Indians namely Gandhi starring a foreign actor namely Ben Kingsley who had enacted the role of Mahatma Gandhi – the father of the nation perfectly. And all such films were instrumental in stirring the patriotic feelings of the Indians of those times.
And to stir the patriotic feelings of the Indians once again we have put together a list of the Best Patriotic Movies in Bollywood. In fact Bollywood has a very strong sense of patriotism. And so, every year the Indian film industry sees at least a couple of movies dedicated to India and her freedom fighters as well as the ones that instill a sense of pride in viewers through patriotism.
While some of these films actually portray the freedom struggle of India and it’s freedom fighters, others are set in the post-Independence era and simmer with a patriotic zeal and pride for the country.
Here’s a list of the Bollywood’s Best Patriotic Movies, Shaheed, the name of which was already mentioned above. So Shaheed was a patriotic film about the Indian independence movement. This was one the of many nationalist films made during this period which depicted the struggle for Independence. The next in line was Mother India. In 1947 India gained independence from the British rule. The country was caught between the need to modernise and continue the technological advances of the last two decades, and the need to maintain traditional moral values and avoid cultural decline. Moreover this movie was nominated in the “Best Foreign Film” category of the Oscars. And how can one forget one more film, yet again by director Mehboob Khan namely Son Of India. One more films of those times was Haqeeqat directed by Chetan Anand. It was about how Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru saw China as India’s best friend after independence propagated the Indo – Chin Bhai Bhai. Then the Indo – China war happened in 1962 and an unprepared India was devastated.
One more important film of that time was Border directed by J P Dutta which was an epic tale about young men & his war to set every Indian free from their own shackles of slavery. The movie was an adaptation from real life events that happened at the Battle of Longewala fought in Rajasthan (Western Theatre) during the Indo – Pakistani War of 1971 and Bangladesh Liberation War.
And the next patriotic films to follow were Aamir Khan (producer) & Ashutosh Gowarikar’s (Director) Lagaan which was a deadly combination of cricket and the rebellion against the British Empire. This one even made it all the way to the Oscars and lost out to No Mans Land.
Once again it was Ashutosh Gowarikar’s film Swades. Which was all about a successful Indian scientist working at NASA who returns to an Indian village to take his nanny to America with him and in the process rediscovers his roots. Director Ashutosh’s masterpiece had all the elements of a patriotic film without resorting to jingoism.
Then how can one forget about Rakeyesh Om Prakash Mehra’s Rang de Basanti a youthful drama about some youthful people gripped by a feeling of patriotism.
And last but not the least was Chak De India, which used a hockey field in India and the Indian women’s national field hockey team as metaphors to explore larger than life’s themes relating to sexism, ethnic & regional prejudice, and religious prejudice under the larger umbrella of Indian nationalism. It also referred to the legacy of partition.
