Mangal Pandey: The Rising
| Mangal Pandey: The Rising | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Ketan Mehta |
| Screenplay by | Farrukh Dhondy Ranjit Kapoor (Hindi script) |
| Story by | Farrukh Dhondy |
| Produced by | Bobby Bedi Ketan Mehta Deepa Sahi |
| Starring | Aamir Khan Toby Stephens Rani Mukerji Ameesha Patel Kirron Kher |
| Narrated by | Om Puri |
| Cinematography | Himman Dhamija |
| Edited by | A. Sreekar Prasad |
| Music by | A. R. Rahman |
| Distributed by | Kaleidoscope Entertainment Tfk Films INOX Leisure Limited Yash Raj Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 151 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Budget | ₹340 million[1] |
| Box office | ₹520 million[2] |
Mangal Pandey: The Rising (internationally known as The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey) is a 2005 Indian historical biographical drama film based on the life of Mangal Pandey, an Indian soldier known for helping to spark the Indian Rebellion of 1857 (also known as The First War of Indian Independence).
It is directed by Ketan Mehta, produced by Bobby Bedi and with a screenplay by Farrukh Dhondy. The lead role is played by Aamir Khan, marking his comeback after he had gone into hiatus after Dil Chahta Hai (2001).
It premiered in the Marché du Film section of the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.[3][4] It was the fourth highest-grossing film of 2005.[5]
Plot[edit]
It is the year 1857, a large part of the Indian subcontinent is under the control of the British East India Company. On 7 April, in Barrackpore in West Bengal, Mangal Pandey (Aamir Khan), a sepoy (soldier of Indian origin) in the 34th Bengal Native Infantry of the company's army, is being led to his execution by hanging for fomenting mutiny against company rule. Witnessing the execution is Pandey's friend, Captain William Gordon (Toby Stephens), who is relieved when the execution is delayed due to the hangman's refusal to hang Pandey. The film then flashes back to four years earlier. While fighting in Afghanistan, Pandey saves Gordon's life by dragging him to safety when the two were targeted by Afghan snipers. Afterwards, Gordon seeks out Pandey at a camp and offers him his pistol as a token of gratitude. Three years later (31 December 1856), during the New Year Eve's ball at the Governor General's palace in Calcutta, Pandey angers Captain Hewson (Ben Nealon) when he attempts to stop him from severely beating an Indian servant for inadvertently touching Emily Kent, the daughter of Mr. Graham Kent, an influential British businessman. Gordon witnesses the assault but does not stop it leading to tension with Pandey. However he apologizes to Pandey during a wrestling match and a friendship is formed between them transcending rank, colour and race.
The company then introduces a new weapon in January 1857 for its troops: the Enfield rifled musket. Rumours spread among the sepoys that the paper cartridges holding the powder and ball for the rifle are greased with either pig fat or beef tallow; the process of loading the rifle requires the soldier to bite down on the cartridge, and the soldiers believe that this would cause them to consume pork or beef — acts abhorrent to Muslim and Hindu soldiers, respectively, for religious reasons.[6] A low-caste labourer named Nainsukh teases Pandey, a Brahmin, that he has lost his caste by using such a gun, but Pandey dismisses Nainsukh's taunts. The sepoys, led by Pandey, express their concerns to General Hearsey (Jeremy Clyde), but he reassures them that no such cartridge exists. The sepoys remain concerned when they are asked to test-fire the new rifle at musketry drill, but Gordon, after talking to Hearsey, reiterates that no such cartridge exists and asks a sepoy to test-fire the rifle. Pandey volunteers, and his fellow sepoys chastise him afterward. However, demonstrating his trust in Gordon, he states his belief that the rumours are untrue.
Meanwhile, Gordon stops a Sati ceremony from occurring and rescues a widow, Jwala (Ameesha Patel). He arranges for her to be treated, and the two gradually become closer, eventually having an affair. Also, Pandey further earns Captain Hewson's ire by stopping him from trying to rape a tawaif named Heera (Rani Mukerji), who was sold to a brothel run by Lal Bibi (Kirron Kher). He suffers a serious beating from Hewson and three other officers the next day, but Gordon intervenes and saves Pandey. Pandey meets Heera at the brothel afterwards, and they begin to fall in love with each other. Some time later, Nainsukh takes Pandey and some other sepoys to see the factory, owned by Mr. Kent, where the cartridge grease is made; indeed, the grease turns out to be pig fat and beef tallow. Pandey, believing Gordon lied to him, returns Gordon's pistol and ends their friendship.
Hearing of the 34th Regiment's refusal to use the rifles, the 19th Regiment at Berhampore also refuses to use them in a parade at the ground on 12 February 1857, and mutiny brews among the sepoys. Gordon unsuccessfully attempts to dissuade Pandey and the mutineers from rebelling, and is likewise unsuccessful at convincing Major General George Anson (Christopher Adamson), the Commander-in-Chief, India, to abandon using the cartridges. The mutineers, meanwhile, meet with Tatya Tope (Deepraj Rana) and his messenger Azimullah (Shahbaz Khan) and they all agree to unite under the leadership of the elderly Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar (Habib Tanvir) and rise in rebellion. Anson decides to send the Queen's Regiment from Rangoon to intercept and subdue the rebels; it is scheduled to arrive in Berhampore on 1 April. Heera informs Pandey of this plan, having spent the previous night with Hewson. The rebels revise their timetable to march on 30 March, but the wife of one of the rebels, angry at her husband after an argument in which he tells her of the impending revolt, informs her British employer woman of the plans. As the employer woman is having an affair with Hewson at the time, he overhears the conversation and later tortures the rebel into revealing the date of the march.
On 29 March, the mutineers are informed of the Rangoon Regiment's arrival. Pandey attempts to rally them into fending off the attack, and when the officers, including Gordon, inquire as to what they are doing, the rebels turn on them. With the regiment's arrival, the mutineers want to throw down their weapons; Pandey, however, fires at the opposing forces, killing two and injuring four. Later on, he was court-martialed, and Gordon testified on his behalf, passionately defending his actions and warning of bloody rebellion if he is hanged. Despite Gordon's warning, the court-martial imposes a death sentence on Pandey. The night before Pandey's execution, Heera visits him in his jail cell and has him place sindoor on her forehead, marking their marriage.
The next day (on 8 April), in front of Gordon, the British officers, his fellow sepoys, and the townspeople, Pandey is hanged. Inspired by his execution, the spectators break out in revolt. The film ends with drawings of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, and footage of the later Indian independence movement.
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