‘The Forgotten Army’ Trailer Delves Beyond the Textbook Story of India’s Freedom Struggle
The upcoming war-drama explores the quests, travails and sacrifices of the Indian National Army
Sharvari Wagh in ‘The Forgotten Army’
Amazon Prime Video recently dropped the trailer for the upcoming war-drama series The Forgotten Army. The series marks the digital debut of director Kabir Khan (New York, Kabul Express, Bajrangi Bhaijaan) who also penned the script for the series. Based on Khan’s 1999 documentary of the same name, The Forgotten Army explores the quests, travails and sacrifices of the Indian National Army (INA, also known as the Azad Hind Fauj) that consisted of nationalists and Indian POWs from the British Imperial Army (formed in 1942 after Japan’s occupation of Singapore during the second world war) and their role in the Indian freedom movement. The INA has oft been held as an interesting counterpoint to Indian political and military history during the freedom struggle.
The clip opens with the rallying cry of ‘Jai Hind’ as Indian soldiers charge into battle. The troops question their allegiance while facing defeat at the hands of the Imperial Japanese Army. We’re introduced to Captain Sodhi (Sunny Kaushal, whose character is based on INA’s colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon, colonel Prem Kumar Sahgal and captain Shah Nawaz Khan) and Maya (Sharvari), a soldier in the Rani of Jhansi Regiment of the INA (who seems to be based on Captain Lakshmi Sahgal). There are scenes featuring the flag of the Empire of Japan unfurling in the streets of Singapore, some hardcore jungle warfare and raw training sequences with Sodhia declaring, “Ek din Hindustan humaari iss qurbani ko yaad rakhega. Shayad samajh nahi payega, par yaad jaroor karega (One day India will remember our sacrifice. The country might not understand it, but they will remember.)” A particularly tense moment in the trailer is when a tanker moves over the body of a curled up soldier. Viewers also glimpse a frame of Subhas Chandra Bose who ultimately led the INA.
The five-episode series will premiere on January 24th. With The Forgotten Army, Khan joins the slew of mainstream filmmakers taking to the OTT wave.
Watch the trailer below:
