My vision of revolutionary is ‘Sardar Udham’: Shoojit Sircar

Filmmaker Shoojit Sircar says his upcoming biopic on Sardar Udham Singh is his interpretation of a revolutionary. Titled “Sardar Udham”, the film starring Vicky Kaushal in the lead role, has been the government’s passion project for the past 20 years when he first visited the Jallianwala Bagh massacre site. However, the director said that making a film on Udham Singh was a challenge as not much was known about his life other than the murder of Michael O’Dwyer in 1940.

“In history, there was not much about Udham Singh. He was a visionary, revolutionary with a great aim. Not many people beyond Punjab know about him. This is my perspective on how I am a revolutionary. I see. There are many ways to look at a revolutionary, this is my vision,” Sarkar said here at the India Today Conclave 2021.

Sardar Udham Singh, led by Brigadier General Reginald Dyer, assassinated the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab Michael O’Dwyer in 1919 to avenge the massacre in 1919, in which more than 1,000 people were killed. O’Dwyer had condemned Dyer’s actions.

Sarkar, known for films like “Vicky Donor”, “Madras Cafe”, “Piku” and “October”, said instead of exploring the events of Udham Singh’s life, he tried to capture the state of his mind. “We did not pay attention to his events and actions, but tried to get into Sardar Udham’s mind. What would he have been thinking or experiencing on the night of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre that changed him.”

Kaushal, who accompanied the filmmaker for the session, said he loved the fact that the government was not projecting Udham Singh as a superhero.

“The way he wanted Sardar Udham to appear, he was not as a superhero. He saw him as a child, a common man, one of us, who got affected by the events of that one night. For me, it became a quest to find out what he couldn’t change. He couldn’t let go of that pain for 21 years.”

The actor said that while he grew up listening to the stories of Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Udham Singh, when he came on board for the film, he realized that there was much more to him than just a few incidents described in history books. .

“I belong to a Punjabi family, my place of birth is two hours away from Jallianwala Bagh. I have heard stories of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Sardar Udham Singh growing up. But when I came on board I realized that I know very little about them.

“My quest to find Sardhar Udham is still on and I hope our endeavor to make that person, that era resonates with the audience.” ‘Sardar Udham’, written by Ritesh Shah and Shubhendu Bhattacharya, will premiere on October 16 on Amazon Prime Video.