Manoj Kumar’s ‘Shaheed’ was the true story of Bhagat Singh. The director did not romanticise the story and tried to be as close to facts as possible. It had some good songs. The story of Bhagat Singh’s life and his martyrdom is so powerful that mere re-telling it, without any embellishments, holds us in awe by the courage and valour of the freedom fighters.
Before this film another film of the same name ‘Shaheed’ was produced which starred Dilip Kumar. It was about the freedom struggle of the Indian people against the British Imperialism. The story writer might have been impressed by the heroic struggle of Bhagat Singh but it was not a film about him.
In recent past two films were produced on the same theme and both were big hits. This phenomenon is worth studying.
About eight films were based on the folk love tale of ‘Heer Ranjha’ and all were liked by the common masses. Other examples of the same sort are films on ‘Laila Majnoon’, ‘Mirza Sahibaan’, ‘Sheereen Ferhaad’ etc. All are folk tales and in this period when people are modernised and under the great influence of Western Culture, it seems strange that they should appreciate these traditional love stories. Story is an essential element in a film and the people already know every bit of detail in these tales.
I think the explanation should be sought in the literature that is created by the masses. I mean the literature that is written by the people and they evolve it in fairs, in ‘chaopaals’ (places where they sit together). New colours are added to it by folk singers, by poets whose names we never know.
The story of Bhagat Singh’s martyrdom might have inspired some film producers; the real point is that huge bulk of literature emerged about it. A person whose father was one of Bhagat Singh’s comrades and who was hanged by the Britishers told me the following story:
In those days, there was a tonga-stand outside the Lahore Railway Station and the tonga drivers sat under a big tree in the afternoon. One of the tonga-drivers who was an illiterate person wrote a poem about Bhagat Singh. The poem was ‘ghorrian’ a form of Punjabi poetry which is sung by women when the bridegroom is getting ready to move to the house of the bride. Bhagat Singh was hanged when he was a young man of only twenty two. A big crowd gathered there and he recited the poem again. All were spellbound. All had tears in their eyes. The patrolling platoon at once took notice of this gathering. The head of the platoon, an Englishman ordered the tonga-driver to stop reciting the poem. He knew the poem was sowing seeds of mutiny in the minds of the people. Undaunted by his threats, the tonga-driver continued with his poem. The Englishman ordered the Indian soldiers to fire at him. They refused. He himself fired shots at the tonga-driver and killed him.
The poems written on Bhagat Singh run in hundreds. This is the literature that truly represents the ‘Spirit’, the collective consciousness of the people. This is what they own and feel themselves to be one with. At a higher level, a Realist Writer is also a prophet of this Spirit. He does not stop at presenting what we call ‘a true picture of reality’, his vision transcends the existing present and he foresees the Future. This is the vision of humanised existence for all. He moves along the High-Road of culture and the Past and Present combine to give Future a shape. In this vision Future dreams are mediated by reality.
Ibne Hasan