The much-anticipated biopic on the martyred Major Mukund Varadarajan, Chennai’s own hero was released on 31 October 2024 to house-full shows. It is noteworthy that Major Mukund Varadarajan was the fourth recipient of Ashoka Chakra award from Tamil Nadu.
While the cinematic depiction of the martyr’s life has probably motivated several youngsters, the film does not exactly show all the details.
The film is said to have been inspired by the chapter on Ashoka Chakra awardee Major Mukund Varadarajan in India Today anchor Shiv Aroor’s book India’s Most Fearless, co-authored by Rahul Singh. The chapter on Major Mukund details how he neutralizes the targets he sets his mind to – Altaf Baba and Altaf Wani (Asif Wani in the film) – the Qazipathri operation to neutralize Wani becomes fatal and his final operation as an Army officer.
Childhood & Early Life
While the film shows his life from 2004 during his postgraduate course study at Madras Christian College, it does not trace his family background or his early life much. Here’s something on that.
Major Mukund Varadarajan was born on 12 April 1983, in Kerala’s Kozhikode district in an Iyengar family. Mukund was a courageous kid right from his childhood and was always said to be surrounded by his friends – we do not get to see this aspect of his life in the film. He was a very naughty kid at that – In an interview with Rediff, his mother Geetha Varadarajan states, “I lost count of the windowpanes I have paid for! But he was a brave, courageous child who led from the front even at that age.”
Since Mukund was deeply passionate about joining the army, Varadarajan considered enrolling him in a Sainik School. However, he had to set aside the plan when he was transferred from Thiruvananthapuram to Alappuzha.
Major Mukund earned his bachelor’s degree in commerce from Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswa Mahavidyalaya in Enathur, Tamil Nadu, and later completed a diploma in journalism from Madras Christian College in Tambaram.
Major Mukund’s Parents
Mukund’s father and mother who are not given ample screen time in the film need to be spoken about. His father worked in a public sector bank, and he came from a family where his father and two of his cousins served in the Indian Air Force. Varadarajan himself hoped to join the Air Force like them, but as the only son, his parents persuaded him to pursue a different path. More importantly, Major Mukund would not (in real life) address his father as “Naina“, but rather use the term “Appa“.
While Major Mukund’s mother was adamant about him joining the Army, the film registers her dislike in a very uneasy way. They do not show how he had asked his father for Rs 10000 to get a modelling portfolio which he refused and decided to join the Army as an alternate profession. His mother later laments that had they agreed to give him that money, Major Mukund would still have been around in flesh and blood.
His Love For His Parents
The 2015 Rediff interview with Major Mukund’s parents also shows how much he loved his parents – something that is not shown sufficiently in the film – it tends to focus more on his wife. While it is not right to belittle the strength of an Army wife, the parents who brought him into this world and loved him to bits are not depicted as well as they should have been. Major Mukund’s mother reportedly stopped making sweets after his martyrdom since it was her son’s favourite.
In the film, he is not shown how much time he spent talking to his mother and how much he said he missed his family. It is reported that after he joined the Army, whenever he spoke, he would speak for hours with his mother. The fact that the Army was his life was not depicted enough. He loved the forces so much that while his heroics need to be spoken about, his real love for the Army did not shine through adequately.
Before every operation, Major Mukund would tell his mother to Pray for him, he would not divulge the details but he would tell her to do this. However, for the operation to neutralize Altaf Wani, he did not tell her to. The last time he spoke to his parents was on his birthday and that is not shown in the film. In the film, he is seen telling his wife that he will be in town after the elections and asks her to keep it a secret from his daughter. In reality, he had told this to his father and asked him to keep it a secret from his mother.
His Love For Food
Yes, it is difficult to depict as many aspects as possible of a person’s life, especially if it is a biopic, but small things like his love for food was nowhere to be seen. Rediff reports that he loved dosas and since he grew up in Kerala, his love for puttu and kadala curry was also something to be noted.
Last Words
The dying words of Major Mukund have also not been depicted properly – the officer accompanying his mortal remains home stated that the last words still echo painfully, “Please take care of my parents, wife, and child.”
Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.