A Malayalam perspective of our Liberation War

Bangladesh fought a bloody nine-month war to shed the name 'East Pakistan' and have a place on the world map of its own identity, and we all know that as Bangladesh's Liberation War. But, India extended its assistance to our struggle from the first week of that fateful 1971 December, and Indians recognise that 13-day battle as a victory of their own, which they refer to as the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. 

Mohanlal may not be very familiar name to the average Bangladeshi, but he is a big superstar of India's Malayalam films. To mark India's 68th Republic Day celebrations, the actor unveiled the first-look poster of his upcoming film “1971 Beyond Borders”, centred on the aforementioned 'Indo-Pakistani War'. “The Battle of emotions begins here, sharing with you all first look poster of 1971 Beyond Borders,” Mohanlal posted on his Twitter page while releasing the poster, that shows him in full combat mode on the frontline.

Although the 'Indo-Pak War' has been a subject of Indian films in the past, it remains to be seen how the subject matter is treated, especially the Bangladesh aspect. 

Mohanlal plays a double role in the film, of Major Mahadevan and his father Colonel Sahadevan. Asha Sarath plays the female lead while Bollywood actor Arunoday Singh is also playing a central character. The film went on floors last October under the director of Major Ravi, in Rajasthan, Ottapaalam and Pattambi. Some portions of the film are also scheduled to be shot in Goergia. 

The Major-Ravi-directed film is part of Mohanlal's series of films as Major Mahadevan, one of the actor's most accomplished roles – in “Kandahar” (2010), “Kirthi Chakra” (2009) and “Kurukshetra” (2008). “1971 Beyond Borders” is set in timeline as a prequel to “Kurukshetra”, and is supposedly based on true events of the 1971 War, at least the part that India partook in. 

The story will unfold from the point of view of three soldiers who fought in the 1971 war, according to reports on Indian media. It will also include scenes about the father of the Major Ravi, who was a soldier in the 1971 war for the Indian army. 

Indian media reports also quoted the director as saying the film will not be just a war movie, but touch on human sentiments and relationships that a soldier goes through in a war zone. 

The first Indian film set on the 1971 War was as early as 1973 in “Hindustan Ki Kasam”, chronicling the story of the famous Operation Cactus Lily carried out by the East Pakistan Air Force. The other films include 1982's “Vijeta”, the 1997 blockbuster “Border”, 2004's Amitabh Bachchan and Sanjay Dutt-starrer “Deewar” and most recently, 2007's “1971” that won the Indian National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. 

It remains to be seen how the film tackles the sensitive issue about the Indo-Pak War and Bangladesh being at the centre of it. In the 2014 Bollywood film “Gunday”, the opening narration of “Bangladesh is born as Pakistan surrender on December 16 at the end of the Indo-Pak War” stirred up serious criticism from Bangladeshi people, eventually drawing an apology from the film's production banner Yash Raj Films.