Subhas Chandra Bose

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Lore & Background

The film opens in British India after a political disagreement with Mahatma Gandhi. Bose's arrest and subsequent release sets the scene for his escape to Germany, via Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. On the night of his escape, he dresses himself as a Pathan to avoid being identified. Bose escapes from under British surveillance at his house in Calcutta on 16 January 1941, accompanied by his nephew Sisir K. Bose in a car. Bose journeys to Peshawar with the help of the Abwehr, where he was met by Akbar Shah and Bhagat Ram Talwar. Since Bose could not speak one word of Pashto, Shah suggests that Bose act deaf and dumb, and let his beard grow to mimic those of the tribesmen. Bose's guide Bhagat Ram Talwar, unknown to him, is actually a Soviet agent. Supporters of the Aga Khan III help Bose across the border into Afghanistan where he was met by an Abwehr unit posing as a party of road construction engineers from the Organization Todt. After assuming the disguise of a Pashtun insurance agent ('Ziauddin') to reach Afghanistan, Bose changes his disguise and travels to Moscow on the Italian passport of an Italian nobleman 'Count Orlando Mazzotta'. From Moscow, he reached Rome, and from there he travels to Germany. In Germany, Bose is attached to the Special Bureau for India under Adam von Trott zu Solz which was responsible for broadcasting on the German-sponsored Azad Hind Radio. Bose initiates the Free India Center in Berlin, and created the Indian Legion (consisting of some 4500 soldiers) out of Indian prisoners of war who had previously fought for the British in North Africa prior to their capture by Axis forces. The Indian Legion is attached to the Wehrmacht, and later transferred to the Waffen SS. Its members swore the following allegiance to Hitler and Bose: 'I swear by God this holy oath that I will obey the leader of the German race and state, Adolf Hitler, as the commander of the German armed forces in the fight for India, whose leader is Subhas Chandra Bose.' In all, 3,000 Indian prisoners of war sign up for the Free India Legion. When he meets Hitler in May 1942, his suspicions were confirmed, and he comes to believe that the Nazi leader was more interested in using his men to win propaganda victories than military ones. So, in February 1943, Bose turned his back on his legionnaires and slipped secretly away aboard a submarine bound for Japan. Bose lives in Berlin from 1941 until 1943. During his earlier visit to Germany in 1934, he had met Emilie Schenkl, the daughter of an Austrian veterinarian whom he marries in 1937. Their daughter is Anita Bose Pfaff. In 1943, after being disillusioned that Germany could be of any help in gaining India's independence, he leaves for Japan. He travels with the German submarine U-180 around the Cape of Good Hope to the southeast of Madagascar, where he is transferred to the I-29 for the rest of the journey to Imperial Japan. In Japan, he revamps the Indian National Army (INA). The INA's first commitment was in the Japanese thrust towards Eastern Indian frontiers of Manipur. INA's special forces, the Bahadur Group, are extensively involved in operations behind enemy lines both during the diversionary attacks in Arakan, as well as the Japanese thrust towards Imphal and Kohima. On the Indian mainland, an Indian Tricolor, modeled after that of the Indian National Congress, was raised for the first time in the town in Moirang, in Manipur, in north-eastern India. The towns of Kohima and Imphal were placed under siege by divisions of the Japanese, Burmese National Army and the Gandhi and Nehru Brigades of INA during the attempted invasion of India, also known as Operation U-GO. However, Commonwealth forces held both positions and then counter-attack, in the process inflicting serious losses on the besieging forces, which were then forced to retreat back into Burma. When the Japanese were defeated at the battles of Kohima and Imphal, the Provisional Government's aim of establishing a base in mainland India was lost forever. The INA was forced to pull back, along with the retreating Japanese army, and fought in key battles against the British Indian Army in its Burma campaign, notably in Meiktilla, Mandalay, Pegu, Nyangyu and Mount Popa. However, with the fall of Rangoon, Bose's government ceases to be an effective political entity. A large proportion of the INA troops surrenders under Lt Col Loganathan. The remaining troops retreated with Bose towards Malaya or made for Thailand. Japan's surrender at the end of the war also leads to the eventual surrender of the Indian National Army. On 17 August 1945, Bose leaves from Saigon to Tourane, French Indo-China in the Mitsubishi Ki-21 twin-engine heavy bomber. Subsequently, on 23 August 1945, Reuters announces the death of Bose and General Tsunamasa Shidei of the Japanese Kwantung Army in Japanese-occupied Manchuria. The film ends with the INA trials at Red Fort, the Royal Indian Navy mutiny, and the resulting Indian Independence in 1947.

Reader's Guide

The film sparked protest in India for its controversial view of Bose's life. Director Benegal was forced to cancel its premiere in Kolkata. The film was fiercely opposed by the Forward Bloc party, angry at the film's suggestion that Bose secretly married an Austrian woman, Emilie Schenkl, in 1937, and that he died in a plane crash in Taiwan rather than fleeing to Russia in 1945 as some people believe. BBC gave 3 stars out of 5 for the film. Critic Jaspreet Pandohar called it 'an informative and fascinating lesson worth sitting through' and 'an absorbing drama.' Pandohar noted that 'Benegal ensures Bose's amazing but complex life story is peppered with just the right amount of detail so as to be easily understood. But what stops this film from becoming a [box-office] hit is its marathon length. At nearly three and a half hours, Sachin Khedekar's gallant performance isn't enough to make this a rousing affair.' Sachin Khedekar's portrayal of Bose was praised by critics including Ziya us-Salam of The Hindu newspaper, who wrote: 'Khedekar may not win too many international awards for portraying Bose but accolades in India should come in thick and fast.' She also noted: 'Benegal may not have put together an epic to challenge the lasting greatness of "Gandhi," Richard Attenborough's tribute to our father of the nation.'

Did You Know?

• Bose escaped from under British surveillance at his house in Calcutta on 16 January 1941, accompanied by his nephew Sisir K. Bose in a car.
• Bose traveled to Moscow on the Italian passport of an Italian nobleman 'Count Orlando Mazzotta'.
• The Indian Legion consisted of some 4500 soldiers, with 3,000 Indian prisoners of war signing up for the Free India Legion.
• Bose's guide Bhagat Ram Talwar, unknown to him, was actually a Soviet agent.
• On 23 August 1945, Reuters announced the death of Bose and General Tsunamasa Shidei in Japanese-occupied Manchuria.

The Great Escape from Calcutta

Following a political break with Mahatma Gandhi, Subhas Chandra Bose was arrested, released, and placed under tight British surveillance in Calcutta. On the night of 16 January 1941, after growing a beard and disguising himself as a Pathan, he slipped out of his home in a car with his nephew Sisir K. Bose. The Abwehr arranged his passage to Peshawar, where Akbar Shah and Bhagat Ram Talwar—secretly a Soviet agent—received him. Because Bose spoke no Pashto, Shah devised a clever ruse: Bose would pretend to be deaf and mute, his beard mimicking local tribesmen. With help from supporters of Aga Khan III, he crossed into Afghanistan, where an Abwehr unit disguised as Organization Todt road engineers escorted him through Kabul to the Soviet border. There he shed the Pashtun identity of 'Ziauddin' and assumed the Italian passport of Count Orlando Mazzotta. The NKVD carried him to Moscow, where he hoped Soviet enmity toward British rule would fund an Indian uprising. Instead, he was swiftly handed to the German ambassador and flown to Berlin in early April on a special courier plane.

Building the Indian Legion in Berlin

In Berlin, Bose was attached to the Special Bureau for India under Adam von Trott zu Solz, which oversaw the German-sponsored Azad Hind Radio broadcasts. He established the Free India Center and recruited the Indian Legion from roughly 3,000 to 4,500 Indian prisoners of war who had previously served the British in North Africa before falling into Axis hands. The Legion was formally attached to the Wehrmacht and later transferred to the Waffen SS. Its members swore a dual oath of allegiance to Hitler as commander of the German armed forces in the fight for India and to Bose as India's leader. Despite this arrangement, Bose harbored a troubling vision: he contemplated a Nazi-led invasion of India spearheaded by his legion, a plan many later questioned as imprudent given the likelihood German forces would not simply withdraw. His admiration for Russia was shattered when Hitler's tanks crossed the Soviet border, rendering the retreating German army useless for any Indian campaign. A May 1942 meeting with Hitler confirmed his deepest fears: the Nazi leader valued Bose's men for propaganda rather than genuine military purpose. By February 1943, Bose abandoned his legionnaires in Germany and slipped away aboard a submarine bound for Japan.

The Submarine Voyage and the INA's Frontline

Leaving his recruited soldiers leaderless and demoralized in Germany, Bose embarked on a perilous sea voyage in 1943. He sailed aboard the German submarine U-180 around the Cape of Good Hope, southeast of Madagascar, before transferring to the Japanese submarine I-29 for the final leg to Imperial Japan. Once in Japanese-occupied Asia, the Azad Hind Fauj—born from the events of Bose's exile—made its first military commitment in the Japanese push toward the eastern Indian frontiers of Manipur. The INA's special forces, known as the Bahadur Group, were heavily engaged in operations behind enemy lines during diversionary attacks in Arakan. They also participated in the Japanese thrust toward Imphal and Kohima, fighting alongside the Burmese National Army under Ba Maw and Aung San. This period, spanning 1943 to 1945, represented the most active military phase of Bose's independence struggle, transforming his political vision into armed resistance on the ground. The Japanese Navy's role in sustaining these operations, however, remained a point of ongoing tension throughout the campaign.

Cinematic Commemoration and National Recognition

Shyam Benegal's 2004 epic biographical war film, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero, brought Bose's wartime years to the screen with an ensemble cast including Sachin Khedekar, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Rajit Kapur, Arif Zakaria, and Divya Dutta. Benegal both wrote and directed the production, which depicted Bose's German and Japanese periods and the birth of the Azad Hind Fauj. Samir Chanda handled production design, while A. R. Rahman composed the soundtrack and background score. The film earned wide critical acclaim at the BFI London Film Festival and went on to collect the National Film Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration as well as the National Film Award for Best Production Design in its year of release. Its significance was reaffirmed on 14 August 2016, when the Indian Directorate of Film Festivals and the Ministry of Defence jointly presented a retrospective screening at the Independence Day Film Festival, marking the seventieth anniversary of Indian Independence. The film thus stands as both a cinematic achievement and a national act of remembrance.