Bose: The Forgotten Hero Review {3/5} & Review Rating
When a film-maker of the calibre of Shyam Benegal is at the helm of affairs, expect nothing but a cinematic gem.
So, does BOSE - THE FORGOTTEN HERO manage to live up to the veteran's past achievements? Yes, it does! BOSE - THE FORGOTTEN HERO is truly an epic, bringing alive the life and times of the great revolutionary - Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
BOSE - THE FORGOTTEN HERO is entirely dedicated to Netaji's legendary gallantry and courage. It also talks about the Indian political movement and also speaks about lesser-known facts and facets of Netaji's life.
The film captures the last five years of the life of Netaji. Surprisingly, this was a crucial phase not only in Netaji's life, but it also marked the turning point in India's struggle for independence from British rule.
The film is divided into three chapters. The first chapter is about Netaji's great escape from Bengal to Kabul. The second chapter is about Netaji trying to contact and convince the Russians, Germans, Italians and Japanese. And the final chapter pertains to the fight by Netaji against the British.
The film seems to have stuck to the history books by and large, but gives its own unique touch. Fortunately, there are no cinematic liberties taken. Right from the events like Netaji's daring escape from India, from where he travels across Afghanistan in disguise, to his historic meeting with Adolf Hitler in Germany, the formation of Indian National Army, there is enough drama to keep you engrossed.
The visuals of course are the high points of this movie. A.R. Rahman's music is of standard. It gels seamlessly with the narrative.
Sachin Khedekar proves that you don't really have to be a commercial star to shoulder a film. His depth as an actor comes to the fore in this challenging role. In the supporting cast, Rajpal Yadav and Divya Dutta stand out with competent performances.
On the whole, BOSE - THE FORGOTTEN HERO is indeed amongst the better lot of movies produced of late. A strong word of mouth should work in its favour.
