Actor Mohit Marwah, who is playing the character of an unsung war hero in his upcoming film “Raag Desh – Birth of a Nation”, says Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose is one such iconic leader of the Indian freedom movement who deserves more credit and popularity than he received.
In “Raag Desh”, directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia, Mohit plays Colonel Prem Sahgal, an Indian National Army officer, who under the leadership of Bose, made a huge contribution in getting independence for India.
Talking about the unsung hero of the freedom movement, Mohit told IANS: “Though I believe all the freedom fighters and leaders — Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and others who are respected and worshipped by the nation for their contribution in Indian independent movement are truly deserving, (but) Subhas Chandra Bose deserves more.”
“Thankfully, with the access to information, people are getting to know more about him and other war heroes. They are getting their due credit. In fact, our film ‘Raag Desh- Birth Of A Nation’ is about three such war heroes,” he added.
For his role, Mohit went through research work and watched documentaries to understand the character as well as the political situation in India during World War II.
“There are some similarities that I have with Colonel Prem Sahgal. So, the more I am discovering his character, I am relating with his thoughts and actions easily. Perhaps that is the reason our director Tigmanshu Dhulia cast me for the role. On the other hand, since he is a brilliant writer, the script is helping me to get a good insight,” Mohit said.
The film’s shooting is in progress.
Born and brought up in Delhi, Mohit has various childhood memories of Republic Day celebrations and one of them is attending the parade.
“Attending the parade on Republic Day was always special for me as a kid,” he said, adding that it was all the more exciting when his father — who was in a honorary post of one of the regiments — was part of it.
Starting his acting career with the short film “The Audition” and later “Strangers in the night”, Mohit made his Bollywood debut with the film “Fugly” in 2014.
As lines between mainstream and parallel cinema are blurring and a wide array of subjects are getting the spotlight in popular film culture, Mohit said: “This is the right time for actors like me to be in the business.”
“I would like to work with directors like Shakun Batra who has a very unique and different approach to subject, Karan Johar and of course Tigmanshu Dhulia again.”
“Raag Desh – Birth of a Nation” also features Amit Sadh and Kunal Kapoor.
