''Sardar'' is a 1994 Indian biographical drama film on

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar, was an Indian lawyer, influential political leader, barrister and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of ...

, one of India's greatest freedom fighters, directed by

Ketan Mehta Ketan Mehta (born 21 July 1952) is an Indian film director who has also directed documentaries and television serials since 1975. Early life and education Born on 21 July 1952 in Navsari in Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the weste ...

and written by noted playwright

Vijay Tendulkar Vijay Dhondopant Tendulkar (6 January 1928 – 19 May 2008) was a leading Indian playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in Marāthi. His Marathi plays established him as ...

. The film was screened retrospective on 12 August 2016 at the Independence Day Film Festival jointly presented by the Indian

Directorate of Film Festivals The Directorate of Film Festivals in India was an organisation that initiated and presented the International Film Festival of India, the National Film Awards and the Indian Panorama. Although the Directorate helped appoint members of the jur ...

and

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

, commemorating 70th

Indian Independence Day Independence Day is celebrated annually on 15 August as a public holiday in India commemorating the nation's independence from the United Kingdom on 15 August 1947, the day when the provisions of the Indian Independence Act, which transf ...

Plot

The film begins with a young

Sardar Patel Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel (; ; 31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950), commonly known as Sardar, was an Indian lawyer, influential political leader, barrister and statesman who served as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of I ...

playing cards with his friends and ridiculing

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure ...

and his policies to achieve independence. His views change however, when he is introduced to Gandhi by his brother, and upon listening to a lecture delivered by Gandhi, he joins him in his struggle. Sardar then successfully organises various

Satyagraha Satyagraha ( sa, सत्याग्रह; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone ...

s throughout Gujarat. The film then moves to the age of the

Quit India Movement The Quit India Movement, also known as the August Kranti Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule ...

and India's freedom. Sardar is instrumental in convincing the working committee of the INC and Nehru to accept a proposal for the partition of India, when riots break out on the league's call for

Direct Action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to othe ...

. Sardar realises that not tackling the problem now might result in civil war in the country. Once the partition has been accepted, Sardar then works to get all the princely states to join the Union of India, the film depicts his handling of the problems posed by the princely states of Kashmir,

Junagadh Junagadh () is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located at the foot of the Girnar hills, southwest of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar (the state capital), it is the seventh largest city in the state. Literall ...

and

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

. The film also portrays his differences with Nehru and how they work together after the death of Gandhiji. The film ends with Sardar resting at the desert village of Shahpura in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

saying that today from Kashmir to

Kanyakumari Kanniyakumari (; , referring to Devi Kanya Kumari), also known as Cape Comorin, is a city in Kanniyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent and the southernmost city in mainland I ...

, there is one independent nation.

Cast

Paresh Rawal Paresh Rawal (born 30 May 1955) is an Indian actor, comedian, film producer and politician known for his works notably in Hindi films, and Telugu, and a few Gujarati and a few Tamil films. He has appeared in over 240 films and is the recipie ...

Annu Kapoor Annu Kapoor (born Anil Kapoor; 20 February 1956) is an Indian actor, singer, director, radio disc jockey, and television presenter who has appeared in over a hundred films, as well as television series. His career has spanned over 40 years as ...

Benjamin Gilani Benjamin Gilani is an Indian film, television and stage actor who works in Hindi cinema. Early life and career Gilani was schooled at Bishop Cotton School, Shimla. He is a postgraduate from Delhi University having studied and taught English lit ...

as Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru * Sri Vallabh Vyas as

Mohammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monot ...

Tom Alter Thomas Beach Alter (22 June 1950 – 29 September 2017) was an Indian actor. He was best known for his works in Hindi cinema, and Indian theatre. In 2008, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. Early life Born in Mussoorie ...

as Viceroy Lord Mountbatten *

H.M. Patel Hirubhai Mulljibhai Patel CIE (27 August 1904 — 30 November 1993) was an Indian civil servant who played a major role in the issues regarding internal and national security in the first years after the independence of India. From 1977 to 197 ...

as himself *

Lalit Tiwari Lalit Tiwari is an Indian film and television actor. His best-known television roles are that of Sanjaya in the series ''Mahabharat'' (1988–1990), and the one in the historical television series ''Bharat Ek Khoj - The Discovery of India'' (1 ...

Ashish Vidyarthi Ashish Vidyarthi (born 19 June 1962) is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, English, Odia, Marathi and Bengali films. He is noted for his antagonist and character roles. In 1995, he received ...

as V. P. Menon *

Govind Namdeo Govind Namdev (born 3 September 1954) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. Namdev made his debut as a corrupt cop in David Dhawan's '' Shola Aur Shabnam'' (1992). He has acted in numerous movies, often as a villain. He is an alumnus o ...

Satish Kaushik Satish Chandra Kaushik (born 13 April 1956) is an Indian actor, director, producer, comedian and screenwriter. Early life Satish was born on 13 April 1956 in Mahendragarh, Haryana. He graduated from Kirori Mal College, Delhi in 1972. He is a ...

Suhasini Mulay Suhasini Mulay (born 20 November 1950) is an Indian actress in Assamese, Bollywood and Marathi films as well as television. She won National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1999, for her performance in Gulzar's film '' Hu Tu Tu''. ...

Raghuvir Yadav Raghubir Yadav is an Indian actor, music composer, singer and set designer who works in Hindi films. He made his film debut with ''Massey Sahib'' (1985), in which he played the title role. He has won two International Awards as Best Actor for ...

as Patel's servant *Vanya Joshi as Rajkumari Amrit Kaur * M. K. Raina * Narendra Sachar as

Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan Abdul Ghaffār Khān (; 6 February 1890 – 20 January 1988), also known as Bacha Khan () or Badshah Khan (), and honourably addressed as Fakhr-e-Afghan (), was a Pakistani Pashtun, independence activist, and founder of the Khudai Khidmatgar ...

Soundtrack

The music of the film was composed by

Vanraj Bhatia Vanraj Bhatia (Hindi: वनराज भाटिया ; 31 May 1927 – 7 May 2021) was an Indian composer best known for his work in Indian New Wave cinema. He was also one of the leading composers of Western classical music in India. Bha ...

Awards

National Film Awards 1993 * Best Film On National Integration *

Best Editing This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress# ...

–

Renu Saluja Renu Saluja (5 July 1952 – 16 August 2000) was an Indian film editor. In the 1980s and 1990s, she worked with both mainstream and art house Hindi cinema directors, including Govind Nihalani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Sudhir Mishra, Shekhar Kapoor, ...

References

External links