Jallianwala Bagh Massacre: Vicky Kaushal Pays Homage In Instagram

Mumbai, April 13: Today marks a dark day for all of India, for it was today on April 13, 1919 that Punjab witnessed the infamous Jallianwala Bagh Massacre where under the command of General Reginald Dyer, hundreds of people, with numbers ranging from 379 to 1,700, were mowed down mercilessly by guns, including women and children.

Since India’s independence, Bollywood has portrayed this topic several times, but perhaps the best recreation of this dastardly and horrendous act was in Shoojit Sircar’s brilliant film “Sardar Udham” which showcased the carnage in its entirety with no holds barred, and the aftermath of the carnage as Sardar Udham spent the night carrying survivors from the site of slaughter under the cover of darkness stealthily to makeshift hospitals.

There the legendary freedom fighter first hand fully realized the cold-blooded attitude of the Raj towards Indians and this was the one event which motivated him for the rest of his life to seek justice for this act by punishing those who were responsible, which he ultimately did in 1940 when he assassinated Michael ‘O Dwyer who first hand had endorsed the massacre.

Lauded by both critics and audiences for his performance in portraying the legendary freedom fighter, Vicky Kaushal took to Instagram and shared a still from his movie where he is surrounded by a bunch of dead bodies, finds a little girl looking for her parents and hugs her, wrapped in sheer grief. He wrote:

One user wrote “Heartbreaking film but you were amazing”.

Another wrote “Goosebumps”

Another user wrote “This scene still gives me goosebumps”

One fan wrote “How can I thank you? “

Actor Ali Fazal also reacted to the post and wrote, “This scene remains etched for time forever.” Also praising Kaushal for his work in the Shoojit Sircar directorial, singer and actor Ammy Virk wrote, “Bhaji bahut bahut bahut jyaaada pyaaar te satkaaar es film layi… sachi love u bhaji

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also marked the anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre by paying homage to those martyred.

He tweeted:

Directed by Shoojit Sircar, the historical drama ‘Sardar Udham’ won critical acclaim and received several accolades including for its powerful storyline, cinematography, production and performances particularly Vicky Kaushal’s among other things.

It was named the ‘Best Hindi film with a social message’ of 2021 by Forbes, while also bagging six awards at the FOI Online Awards and was also a candidate for India’s selection for Oscar entries but was rejected on the ground of spreading “hatred against the British”.

Apart from Kaushal, the film also starred Shaun Scott, Stephen Hogan, Amol Parashar, Banita Sandhu and Kirsty Averton in supporting roles. It premiered on the OTT platform Amazon Prime Video in October 2021.