Shekhar Kapur praises Haqeeqat prior to 75th Independence Day: Most realistic and patriotic war film to be made in India

Chetan Anand directed, wrote, and produced the 1964 war epic Haqeeqat. Major parts in the movie are played by Dharmendra, Balraj Sahni, Priya Rajvansh, Sudhir, Sanjay Khan, and Vijay Anand.

Source: Twitter

While India approaches its 75th anniversary of independence, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur recalled the 1964 classic military movie Haqeeqat which starred Dharmendra, Balraj Sahni, Priya Rajvansh, Sudhir, Sanjay Khan, and Vijay Anand. The film, directed by Chetan Anand, is one of the most dramatic commentaries on the negative consequences of war on troops.

On Wednesday, Shekhar tweeted about Haqeeqat, saying, "Chetan Anand’s #Haqeeqat .. the most realistic and patriotic war film to be made in India. It will move you to tears and fill you with pride in the courage of our Armed Forces against near impossible odds. #AzadiKaAmritMahotsav #IndianArmy #75YearsofIndependence."

Check out the tweet:

The film is based on the events of the 1962 Sino-Indian War, which pitted a small unit of soldiers in Ladakh against a considerably bigger opponent. Anand also penned and oversaw production of the movie in black and white. Haqeeqat got the National Award for second best feature film in 1965.

Several of the current population may not have viewed Haqeeqat but the film's track Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyon remains among the most timeless patriotic anthems in Indian movie history, capturing devotion to the nation and the sentiment of sacrifice like no other music. Madan Mohan scored the film's soundtrack, while Kaifi Azmi wrote the songs' lyrics. The film is widely regarded as one of India's best black-and-white war pictures. The film's colour version was finally released in 2012.

Haqeeqat is available to stream on ZEE5.

However, Shekhar is eagerly anticipating the release of his next film, What's Love Got to Do With It? The British romantic drama features Lily James, Emma Thompson, Sajal Ali, Shazad Latif, Rob Brydon, Shabana Azmi, and Asim Chaudhry. His most recent film was the 2007 historical film Elizabeth: The Golden Age which starred Cate Blanchett.

Share