Film Review: Swatantrya Veer Savarkar [Free Brave Savarkar]

Starring: Randeep Hooda, Ankita Lokhande, Amit Sial, Apinderdeep Singh, Mark Bennington, Richard Bhakti Klein, Rajesh Khera, Mirnal Dutt

Director: Randeep Hooda

As the directorial debut of talented actor Randeep Hooda, this biopic of an Indian freedom fighter seeks to redress the imbalance of history to highlight some lesser-known facets of the life of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar – popularly referred to as Veer Savarkar or Savarkar, the brave.

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (Hooda) comes face to face with injustice at a very young age, instilling in him a deep sense of Indians being wronged by the British colonisers. As a witness to the violence and sexual attacks on the women folk of his family and wider community, Savarkar along with his older brother grow up with rebellion deeply rooted within their veins.

His quest for knowledge coupled with immense intelligence win Savarkar a scholarship to study law in England and he heads to the land of the colonisers to be armed with the legal knowledge to back up the freedom struggle brewing deep within. In London, he is embraced by other revolutionaries in a home for similar Indian students under the watchful eyes of British intelligence.

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Gradually, Savarkar’s penmanship and fame starts to gain ground to the dismay of the British, who are on the lookout for any excuse to throw him behind bars into the notorious Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, known as Kaala Pani. Will Veer Savarkar overcome the oppressive conditions of the prison to return to the freedom struggle or will the colonisers quell his rebellious streak?

Biopics of this nature require an assured performance by the lead actor and Hooda is ideally suited for this enormous challenge of filling the shoes of a tall historical figure. That there is not enough known about this revolutionary makes this a timely film and under Hooda’s able direction, it offers a very informative lesson in Indian patriotic history.

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The supporting cast are also well suited to portray their real-life characters and help with the overall flow of the script. While it does feel slow in parts, Hooda’s power-packed performance manages to keep things on track for the most part.