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Ketan Mehta

'The Rising' raises a few hackles among the British
15th Aug 2005 22.40 IST
By Aparajita Ghosh

A British historian and Conservative Party politicians in the U.K. have expressed doubt over the depiction of events leading to India’s first rebellion for Independence against the British, as shown in Ketan Mehta ’s movie ‘Mangal Pandey – The Rising ’.

The 1857 rebellion that involved influential figures like revolutionary Mangal Pandey, Rani Laxmibai of Zhansi and Tatya Tope is seen as the first war of Independence by the Indians. However, the British see it as a mutiny.

The depiction of the East India Company and the brutality of British officers on Indians, as shown in the film, has come under strong criticism from certain people in Britain.

The film shows the East India Company exploiting Indian farmers to trade in opium. Majority of British officers in the film are shown as brutal characters who burn villages, frequent brothels and force the use of animal fat-laced cartridges in the regiment comprising of Indian sepoys.

Saul David, author of ‘The Indian Mutiny: 1857’ disagreed with the depiction of British brutality in the film. One scene in the film shows a British officer ordering his soldiers to burn a village after its inhabitants refuse to lend their land for opium production.

“The East India Company did trade in opium but I have no knowledge of a massacre like this and I do not believe it happened,” David was quoted as saying by the Sunday Telegraph.

David said while a certain amount of criticism “is justified”, but said that the depiction of certain incidents in the movie “sounds like vilification of the British just for the sake of it.”

Even the Conservative Party has criticized the British government-supported UK Film Council for investing 150,000 pounds in the film.

‘Mangal Pandey – The Rising’ is the most expensive film in the Indian history. The film has Aamir Khan playing the revolutionary Mangal Pandey who spearheaded the first freedom struggle against the British and, on one occasion, raised his gun to fight a whole regiment single-handedly.

The movie stars Toby Stephens as William Gordon, a British officer who was a good friend of Pandey.

Related
Ketan Mehta
The Rising
Aamir Khan
Toby Stephens


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