The Legend of Bhagat Singh

s an American, I had no idea who Bhagat Singh was, though I was familiar with the sort of repression that led to his movement. The British were brutal when it came to controlling India. The nation was huge...and the Brits realized that the only way to control such a large nation was through terror and violence. The film "The Legend of Bhagat Singh" does a great job in showing the massacres, the torture of prisoners and the coercion of confessions through beatings...and this is something folks outside of India must know about and accept that it happened. And, as a retired history teacher, I really thought this was a very good and important film. My only reservations were the singing. I know that most Indian films have a lot of singing...that is almost expected. But to throw in a fluffy love song in the middle and a song as the three men are being led to the gallows sure did a lot to deflate the otherwise powerful film. Ajay Devgn was great in the lead and the likeness to Singh was definitely present. The script also was very powerful and I found myself tearing up many times. But the songs...well, a couple of them just had to go. Otherwise, a very powerful and memorable film.

The Legend of Bhagat Singh is one of Indian cinema's most ambitious projects to date. After three years of painstaking research and set construction, veteran film maker Raj Kumar Santoshi and actor Ajay Devgan shot the film in a short stretch of six months. The film released early due to competition from other films dealing with roughly the same subject. Overall it's a pretty solid film but one can't help shake the feeling that it could have been a far superior product if it had been worked on for a short while longer.

The film tells the entire life story of Indian freedom fighter and martyr Bhagat Singh who, in a nut shell, grew disillusioned with Gandhi's passive movement and lead an independent violent struggle against the British.

Colonial India is recreated magnificently in the film and the British atrocities committed are portrayed with aplomb by the director. One can truly get a sense of how such frustrating conditions could drive youngsters to violence and revolt. Some of the film's strengths are its hard hitting portrayal of British atrocities, its court scenes and its action scenes.

The film's biggest highlight is its lead performer, Indian actor Ajay Devgan. The actor single handedly manages to uplift even the most dull and unconvincing scenes in the film to a high quality level. His every expression and mannerism is carefully calculated to maximize his impact on the viewer. This man can move audiences to tears or wide smiles with just a few short lines and quick glances from his intense eyes. His work here is par excellence and can easily rival any work done by any grade-A actors the world over.

The supporting cast is good as well, with fellow revolutionary Sukhdev (Indian stage actor Sushant Singh) Bhagat Singh's mother (Indian diva Farida Jalal) leaving lasting impressions as well.

The last excellent thing about the movie is the music by renowned composer A.R. Rahman. The music is not as festive as Bollywood movies usually boast, but that's to be expected considering the subject of the film. The well crafted, soothing ethnic tunes manage to evoke the right emotions without seeming rash and distasteful.

The film isn't without its weaknesses, however. For one, it's obviously a rushed effort. Segments of the script seem under developed and the impact of certain national tragedies on Bhagat Singh's mindset is never fleshed out as one would want them to be.

Also, Bhagat Singh's political ideology (he was a communist, by the way) is never really spelled out for viewers. Instead, they are left to put together pieces for themselves connecting the dots from dialogs and incidents in the film to really figure out the main character's mindset and view points.

The second half of the film moves at an awkward pace, sometimes lingering on minute details and other times racing ahead and skipping crucial events (which are referenced in later dialog). Finally, for a film that remains very objective in presenting most events, viewers will be surprised by a very negative portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi and India's first Prime Minister Nehru. This angle of the film stuck out like a sore thumb to say the least.

For all its faults however, Legend of Bhagat Singh has plenty of strengths to make it a superb film. It tells a great story with style and conviction. It has wonderful performances including one of finest performances ever in Indian cinema by Devgan. It has great action, moving drama, soothing music, and is (overall) a thoroughly rewarding and entertaining experience. It comes highly recommended by me.

I was 10 years old when i first saw this film.. and now i'm back after 10 years to write a review about it why i felt a need,? i don't know but i guess i just wanted to..

Well the movie starts off from the ending,yeah you'll know when you see it yourself.. and right from the first minute you are glued to the screen i wouldn't spoil it any further..

Because of the time of it's release i don't think a lot of audience was able to see such an important film especially for us Indians. I beg the makers to re release this gem so that our generation remembers what it took to get freedom and are we actually free?

I Thank each and every person involved to make this movie come possible..

The Legend of Bhagat Singh is a wonderful representation of India, in the middle of its struggle to throw the British out. As with any with movie with a historical basis, I was a nervous that Bollywood would use artistic license to cheapen the story. In fact, the director, Santoshi shows in details how Bhagat came to develop his views of the British with very little outside distraction.

Ajay Devgan is excellent as a the title character, bringing the necessary passion that only he can provide with his steel-y stare. Of particular note is the scene showing the freedom fighters telling Gandhi to stop working within the British framework. Westerners can see the parallel between Gandhi's nonviolent methods and the more revolutionary Bhagat Singh with Martin Luther King's methods vs Malcolm X "by any means necessary" credo.

As the last reviewer mentioned, it's a great reference for those interested in India's independence struggle and it truly reinvigorated my interest in Indian history.

See this movie if you enjoy eastern history, but won't go for the traditional Bollywood flick.

The legend of Bhagat Singh is one of the finest movies of Indian film history.The film shows the lifetime of great freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.The film depicts his life,his struggle and his determination brillantly..The film not only shows the freedom fighter's struggle,but also his ideologies and his idea of a progressive nation and how he moved the entire nation. The photography,the script,the dialogues(power packed and very thought-provoking)everything about this movie is splendid.A lot of research has gone into making this film.Brilliant performance by Ajay Devagan as Bhagat singh,Sushant singh as Sukhdev.Ajay literally lived the freedom fighter's life.The music adds to the film's beauty. Raj Kumar Santoshi's brilliant effort and a fitting tribute to the son of the soil.Bollywood should be proud of this masterpiece.