What is the best time spent than watching a Shoojit Sircar’s film on the weekend laying down on the couch? The Piku, October director never disappoints you, and this time he is again with us for an Amazon Original Sardar Udham.
The film starring Vicky Kaushal in the lead role is surreal to the nightmare incident in 1919 when a group of innocent people assembled in the Bagh or what we say as the British soldiers gunned down the garden.
But, that’s just a preface story that we have heard since our childhood, but that’s quite a more in that some prerequisites that made this incident occur and some post happenings that warned the assassinators.
Sardar Udham will take you slowly through all the developments; the film’s great screenplay and storyline will grip you to the seat till the end of the movie.
The tone of the film is very different and viable, and if you are the one who loves to watch a typical Bollywood kind of film, then, to be honest, then you won’t enjoy the movie to its fullest.
Sardar Udham Plot- India’s Hero
We have never heard or read about Sardar Udham’s life in her textbooks, but the film has been relatively respectful in this regard and has managed to showcase his life in the best possible way.
In the film, Udham Singh, who was born Sher Singh, had lost his parents when he was pretty young, and following which he had spent a significant part of his life in an orphanage.
But, soon after he gained his consciousness, he started getting involved in revolutionary activities against the Britisher’s supremacy in our country.
Sardar Udham- India’s Unsung Hero (Image Credits- Amazon Prime videos)But, Sardar Udham wasn’t the type of person who loved to take all the credits of his activities and had remained unrecognized.
We also learn that he was a close friend of Bhagat Singh and had always tried to keep his ideologies in high regard.
To keep his true patriotic interests high, he joined Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA), founded by Ram Prasad Bismil, and the same association where Bhagat Singh, too, had been there.
What was Jallianwala Bagh Massacre?
The Jallianwala Bagh Massacre is a brutal incident of killing men, women, and kids peacefully protesting in a Bagh(park/ garden).
On April 13, 1919, the incident took place when General Dyer opened fire on all the people who had assembled in this Bagh and killed them.
The people had assembled in the Bagh to mark their silent protest against the Rowlatt Act, and then Lieutenant Governor of Punjab, Michael O’ Dwyer, got agitated.
He believed that any rebellion against the British Supremacy should be suppressed, and then the suppression should be done in such a way that anyone in the future would never dare to do such a thing.
So, he ordered General Dyer to do what was most appropriate in the situation.
With an apparent intention, General Dyer went to the Bagh and ordered open fire, killing everyone there. He even accepted that he went there intending to kill them; he never thought of warning them.
From this action and the intention revolt, we saw that Michael O’Dwyer was very clear to do anything that would never undermine the crown’s authority.
General Dyer was following the orders given to him, and he alone isn’t responsible for the deaths of hundreds and thousands of innocent people.
How did Jallianwala Bagh Massacre Impact Sardar Udham’s Life?
Sardar Udham’s love interest Reshma was also part of the peaceful assembling of people in the Bagh on that day.
When he heard about this incident, he quickly ran there to find her out.
But, what he saw there was something he would have never dreamt of it even in his worst dreams.
He saw a vast heap of dead and injured people taken to the hospital; there were dozens of trolleys on which the people’s bodies were laden.
He didn’t find Reshma that day in the Bagh, but he found a greater purpose of his life that day standing over there with the horrifying scenes all around.
He then decided to sacrifice his life for freedom; he believed that atrocities against the people of India would only come to an end if we remained united against the fight to set our country free.
This feeling led him to make some difference in India’s freedom struggle which later amplified after joining the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA).
Did British Government Try to Vanish Information about Sardar Udham Singh?
Indeed, an authority would try to vanish or suppress any information about individuals who have revolted against them.
They would never allow the future generation to talk about their shortcomings and always try to be the ultimate hero.
The British Government also did the same thing; soon after Bhagat was hanged to death, they saw Sardar Udham as a severe threat.
His patriotic ideologies would surely destroy their pleasant nights of sleep, and suppressing him would mean suppressing the national uprising for freedom against British rule.
So, the British Government soon labeled him as a terrorist and put him behind bars. But Sardar Udham didn’t stop his quest over there as well.
The legend started his hunger strike against the insurgency of the Government, and they knew that this would genuinely engage nationalist sentiments in the people.
The British Government never wanted Sardar Udham to be seen as a martyr in the future.
Hence, he was hanged to death on 31 st July 1940 on the charges of killing Michael O’ Dwyer, responsible for the widespread killing mob of peaceful protestors.
Sardar Udham Ending Explained: What Happened to Sardar Udham?
Detective Swain asked Sardar Udham in the final part of the film, where he requested Sardar Udham about what he could do for him.
He says that he didn’t want people to consider him a terrorist, and people should acknowledge him as a revolutionary who proudly states that he killed Micheal O’Dwery.
The committee’s inquiry didn’t announce any punishment for his actions, nor did Michael have any guilt for what he had done.
He even said that he wouldn’t be apologetic towards the act of General Dyer and said he did the best that fits the situation.
This thing has always remained with Sardar Udham, and he decided to take the plunge against him and started his journey off. He soon joined as a house helper in Micheal O’Dwyer’s house with a clear intention of getting the right opportunity to kill him for all that he did to his countrymen.
Soon, he got the proper chance and did this heroic act, but Michael O’Dwyer never acknowledged him for what he had. Our people have banished him from their memory.
He just wanted Michael O’Dwyer, who was responsible for the death of hundreds of innocent people.
Though the Government of British set an inquiry against him, he was never trailed for the wrongdoings he did, and he continued to live the life of the elite individual.
It’s been 150 years now incident of Jallianwala Bagh took place, and since then, we have been waiting for a letter of apology from the British Government for all that Michael O’Dwyer has done.
Sardar Udham Review- Our Take on the Film?
If you love to watch a historical film with the element of the nationalistic uprising in it, then you would surely enjoy Sardar Udham.
Though the film is not a typical Bollywood stereotyped film, it’s way beyond that, and it won’t be any wrong to say that it is a masterpiece.
The film’s direction is so well done that you won’t get off your seat until the movie ends.
The film celebrates this unsung hero who played a significant role in the freedom struggle, as his name has been erased from our history textbooks and also from our memory as well its great to have such a film which introduces us to such a great personality from the history who sacrificed their lives for a more significant cause.