‘23^rd March 1931 Shaheed ‘

' The Definitive version '

Jointly Launched Bobby and Sunny Deol’s 23^rd March 1931 Shahheed with a big bang and a stunning array of stars and a long list of Rich and famous at warner village in the heart of London’s west end.

And they threw a lavish Party afterwards at le meridian in the city as well and it was one of the best parties for a while.

It seems as though with so many movies releasing at almost the same time on the same topic from bollywood has not brought the enthusiasm down if anything its like having one flowers in the vase against having five at the same time has raised the profile of this topic but 23^rd march 1931 Shaheed is definitely has a much more powerful storyline and has captured the true spirit of the subject matter.

 23rd March 1931 Shaheed, one of the biggest budget films of the season is based on the life of freedom fighter and martyr Bhagat Singh. Bobby Deol plays the coveted title role of Bhagat Singh and older brother Sunny Deol plays the pivotal role of Chandrashekhar Azad. They are supported by a strong cast of Amrita Singh as Bhagat Singh's mother, Aishwarya Rai who plays Bhagat Singh's widow and Rahul Dev in the role of Sukhdev, Bhagat Singh’s compatriot.

 Uday Kaushish, co-distributor of 23rd March 1931 Shaheed, says, “Everyone needs heroes, people they can look up to. Bhagat Singh fills that slot beautifully. He is contemporary, because he was a doer. You will feel proud of being an Indian after you see our film.”

 Uday also adds, ‘23^rd March 1931 Shaheed will have an edge, because the trade feels that the character of Bhagat Singh has enormous appeal mainly in North India, particularly Punjab – and that is where Sunny has his biggest following (he’s playing Chandrashekhar Azad in the film). Bhagat Singh’s death was an earthshaking event in the North.’

 As for Bobby, Guddu Dhanoa himself acknowledges that the actor was very nervous in the beginning: “He kept saying, ‘How will I do it?’ We gave him books to read, had long discussions with him. We scrapped the first two days’ shooting. The turning point came when we did the photo shoot with him. He looked so much like Bhagat Singh, it was uncanny. After that he got into the character perfectly.”

 ·       The story of Bhagat Singh:

When 14, Bhagat Singh went to Jallianwalla Bagh where the British had massacred thousands of Indians, and collected a handful of blood-soaked soil, which he kept as a memento all his life.

A few years later, he came into contact with revolutionary leaders like Chandra Shekhar Azad and B.K. Dutt. In 1928, the British government appointed The Simon Commission to report on political happenings. There was no Indian member in it, and all political parties decided to boycott it.

In Lahore, Lala Lajpat Rai and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya took out a silent protest march. But the police beat back the non-violent procession and Lala Lajpat Rai was brutally hit by lathis. He finally succumbed to his injuries. Bhagat Singh vowed revenge and shot dead police superintendent Saunders who had ordered the lathi charge.

On April 8, 1929, Bhagat Singh and B. K. Dutt threw a bomb in the Central Legislative Assembly in protest against the passage of the Public Safety Bill, which would have severely restricted civil liberties. The bomb exploded harmlessly, since it was not meant to injure anyone, but “to make the deaf hear.” Bhagat Singh could have escaped, but he courted arrest. In 1931, he and his comrades Sukhdev and Rajguru were hanged to death by the British.

 It seems as though our mother countries India and Pakistan has learnt very little from great scrafices made by  Bhagat Singh Shaheed and  other freedom fighters.

 Its time they realised these people gave their lives so we can enjoy freedom and better life but if we resort to war again and again than no one would benefit.

 People like Bhagat singh shaheed would be ashamed of their people if we don’t stop this cycle of violence in the sub-continent.

 Now is time for peace and love. 

Ayesha Yazdani

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