Savarkar movie: Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s family slams Randeep Hooda for ‘distorting facts’

Randeep Hooda, who portrays Vinayak Damodar Savarkar in his directorial debut Swatantra Veer Savarkar, earlier tweeted about Savarkar being an inspiration to revolutionaries such as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Khudiram Bose. Even the teaser of the biopic says so. Now, the family members of Bose have strongly refuted any claims suggesting in the biopic that Savarkar played a role in inspiring the freedom fighters.

Netaji's daughter, Anita Bose Pfaff, clarified that the only common ground between her father and Savarkar was their religion. She emphasised that Netaji, like Mahatma Gandhi, stood against divisiveness based on religious differences and urged Savarkar's followers to align themselves with Netaji's vision for India rather than distorting his views.

"Like Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji was opposed to the divisiveness based on religious differences. Let Sarvarkar's followers join Netaji in his vision for India and not hijack him for views that certainly were not his," Pfaff told The Times of India.

Chandra Bose, Netaji's grandnephew, earlier pointed out that Savarkar's ideology was fundamentally different from that of Netaji and Bhagat Singh, who fought for a secular and united India. He highlighted multiple instances where Netaji expressed opposition towards Savarkar's ideas and his association with Hindu Mahasabha.

Addressing the upcoming biopic, Chandra Bose stated that while it was commendable that Randeep Hooda was making a film on Savarkar, it should accurately portray Savarkar's personality. He emphasised that there was no need to include Netaji, Bhagat Singh, and Khudiram Bose in a movie focused on Savarkar.

“Netaji was against Hindu Mahasabha. He had a more inclusive and secular ideology. If the movie presents distorted facts, the nation's 140 crore people will go against him (Hooda)," Bose said.

Subrata Roy, the grandnephew of Khudiram Bose, clarified that there was no historical evidence suggesting that Khudiram Bose found inspiration in Savarkar. Roy stressed that Khudiram Bose was influenced by figures like Hemchandra Kanungo, Satyen Bose, and Aurobinda Ghosh, as part of the Anushilan Samiti, an underground society for revolutionaries.

The teaser of the biopic also touches upon a controversial aspect by suggesting that Mahatma Gandhi's unwavering commitment to non-violence resulted in a significant delay of India's independence by 35 years.