The film Amaran, based on the life of Major Mukund Varadarajan, is said to be inspired by the book India’s Most Fearless by Shiv Aroor and Rahul Singh ambitiously seeks to capture the spirit and sacrifices of a remarkable soldier. However, despite its earnest intent, the execution falls short on a few fronts, detracting from what could have been a powerful film. There are several spoilers, so please read with caution.
From the opening scenes, where army personnel each speak a different language while praying, it’s clear the film aims to depict diversity within the ranks. Yet, the attempt feels forced, with two soldiers performing namaz in the backdrop of Hanuman Chalisa on the player prominently displayed to emphasize inclusivity. The next few scenes introduce us to the character where Sivakarthikeyan playing the role of Major Mukund Varadarajan calls for a rallying cry akin to Uri’s “How’s the Josh?” – in this film, they shout “Rashtriya Rifles!” but without the same impact – at least in the opening scenes.
Sai Pallavi, cast in the role of Major Mukund’s love interest, seems to have been in the role because of her curly hair and the fact that she played the role of a Tamil-speaking lecturer in Premam, a Malayalam film. In this film there is a scene where she speaks to her professor in Malayalam, even though her character is shown to study media and is spoken to in English. This choice appears incongruent, especially as she remains the only one speaking her native language in scenes where others use English, creating an odd dissonance. Sai Pallavi’s Malayalam dialogues could have been dubbed by a Malayali rather than herself, it would have felt more authentic.
While being from Kerala, her dialogue about Kerala’s cultural relevance in Mukund’s life feels like an attempt to connect Mukund’s heritage, yet the film fails to acknowledge he was born and grew up in Kerala, a detail even Wikipedia missed—this point could have added meaningful depth to his character’s background.
Portrayal Of Major Mukund’s Family & Community
The portrayal of Mukund’s family is another area where Amaran stumbles. It is still unclear why the director decided not to portray Major Mukund’s family as an Iyengar family. The film depicts his father as a silent figure – almost like a background prop, overshadowed by a stern mother who openly disapproves of his career choice multiple times, refusing to take part in significant moments like his pipping ceremony during the passing out parade. Sivakarthikeyan is also seen addressing his father as “Naina” all through the film and it seems deliberate.
Why is it a problem for the director, producer – part-time politician Kamal Hassan, (and probably the distributor – Red Giant owned by the DMK first family) to depict a hero to be from the community he really is from? Is the director playing his part in staying true to the “Brahmins in Tamil Nadu do not join the Army” Dravidianist narrative?
We respect soldiers as soldiers, not for their caste, creed, religion or whatever – they are all our guardians without whom we will not be safe even for a minute. But when care is taken to highlight Indhu Rebecca (Major Mukund’s widow) as a Christian in almost every scene, one wonders why this care is not given to Major Mukund equally. In reality, in the pictures available on the internet, Indhu is hardly seen with the cross around her neck. She is also shown as very god-fearing, it is not clear how much of that is true – if all these intricacies could have been made note of, the same effort could have been taken for Major Mukund’s character as well – there is only one scene where he shows his “ishta deivata” – Swami Ayyappan and that’s all.
One cannot call it a biopic if such important details are missed deliberately. We saw this distortion in films like Soorarai Potru, said to be the biopic of Captain Gopinath, a Tamil Brahmin, but in the film, he is portrayed as a follower of the anti-Hindu bigot EV Ramasamy Naicker and from a different community.
Some Other Inaccuracies
While the mother would be one of the most influential figures in Major Mukund’s life, her character is reduced to someone who is unsupportive of his choice of bride, disapproving of his choice of profession – it is in very tiny bits that the parents’ love is shown in the film.
Yes, we see the film through his wife’s eyes but for a biopic, every detail is important.
In the film, Mukund is seen modestly denying coming from an “army family,“ however, their role in shaping his aspirations definitely needs acknowledgment – his grandfather and uncles were members of the IAF, and he wanted to emulate them. This part is completely left out.
In terms of character portrayal, the physical miscasting of Mukund as a 5’9” actor instead of the towering 6’3” stature of the real Major diminishes his presence to some extent.
One of the film’s biggest letdowns is its slightly unbalanced focus on the love story, which often eclipses Mukund’s illustrious military life. Youth in the audience seemed to cheer more for romantic gestures than for the courageous acts he performed on duty. While a love story could be the perfect ingredient for a biopic like this one, is the director trying to send a message that interreligious marriages must be encouraged, and only then one can find success in life? Or, come what may, stick to your selfish interest and ignore your parents’ words?
In the film, the couple is shown to be facing hardships over the parents’ acceptance of their love – in reality, Mukund’s parents yielded first and pretty quickly rather than Indhu’s parents. It is also unclear why Major Mukund’s mother who in reality is from Kerala is shown dissing his choice of bride for being Malayali! She says, “Respect is for Tamil only.” – a dialogue that again feels out of place – was it forced fit to suit the Dravidianist agenda?
In the scene where he is inducted into 44 Rashtriya Rifles by his CO AS Dabas, the history of Kashmir right from the time of partition to the ascension of J&K to India and the status till date is updated to Major Mukund by the CO himself! It is a fact that soldiers are expected to read national and international history during their training days.
Latest updates may be given to the incoming officer by the CO but giving him lessons on the entire history is funny – it could have been narrated in the background instead of reducing the CO to this stature.
Most Glaring Addition
One wonders why the song on Azadi was even a part of the film – is the director in appreciation of the terrorists’ slogans? The lyrics of the song and its placement are a total misfit and come across as supportive of separatist sentiment rather than respectful of the Indian Army’s efforts.
The slogans chanted by terrorists make up the lyrics of this song:
“Hum kya chahthe?
Are zor se bolo!
Are saare bolo!
Hai haq humaari!
Hai shaan humaari!
Jaan se pyaari!
Hum cheen lenge
Hum kaat denge
Tum he deni padegi
Chaahe dande maaro
Chaahe goli maaro
Aag laga do”
This is interspersed with lyrics in Tamil that seem to adulate Major Mukund and his bravery. But having these slogans as a part of the lyrics will make every single youth start singing along without understanding the meaning and intention of these slogans that are only chanted by terrorists!
What Works
Sivakarthikeyan shines through in the role, his development over the years from a college goer to a Gentleman Cadet to a Major in 44 RR is remarkable.
The BGM by GV Prakash in crucial portions works well, it helps to show Army officers in the same light as other film heroes – this jingoism (or not) is necessary especially to drive the point about an Army man being a real-life hero among the youth who have been fed fantasy and Dravidian nonsense all their lives. It is high time that our real-life heroes – our army men, the guardians of our country, are shown in a positive light.
The terrorists are not glorified, the issues in Kashmir are shown fairly well without any bias, and the gory scenes seem to have been cut off a little as mentioned in the censor certificate.
It was a joy to listen to Jai Bajarang Bali – the war cry of Rashtriya Rifles which is not a common feature in Kollywood films, let alone chants of other deities.
The depiction of the counterterrorist operations is handled pretty well in the film. There are 2 times when Major Mukund begins to become larger than life = when he neutralizes the wanted terrorist Altaf Baba and says “This is the face of the Indian Army” and the scene where he carries his team member Waheed on his shoulders rescuing him from a daredevil operation just as he is going to be beheaded – that moment Major Mukund shone like a bright star – the film should have had more such moments.
The words “When you go home tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow we gave our today” seen a couple of times in the film leaves one with a lump in their throats, as does the final moments and goodbye of the martyr.
What Could Have Been Better
For starters, staying true to the reality could have been a better strategy. Major Mukund could have been shown to be from an Iyengar family. The parents could have been played by better characters. The relationship with his parents could have been depicted reasonably well. His love for his daughter seems underwhelming compared to the love he had for his wife (as shown in the film).
His love for the Army and country did not get portrayed realistically – it could have been better – the focus seemed to be to show Major Mukund as the hero, yes, he is a hero but also show what he loved the most, more than the human relations he valued – the Army.
The final moments, where Mukund’s last wishes are conveyed, also suffer from a reductionist approach. He is said to have wished to have his parents, wife, and child, cared for – but it gets distorted a bit. It would also have been better if they had shown the words he spoke to his CO in English, rather than in Tamil. The last respects for Major Mukund were a revelation – people from all walks of life travelled all the way to his residence to pay their final respects – even neighbourhood autorickshaw drivers – unfortunately, that is not shown. It would have added to the majestic image that the biopic aimed to create about Major Mukund.
While Amaran has its negatives, it also has all the elements of a blockbuster – a hero, a love story, a mission. For Kollywood, this is a start, this film can be the guiding light of sorts for nationalist-themed films, films on the armed forces, real-life heroes, freedom fighters etc, to be made in a state that has given the country 1 Param Vir Chakra and 4 Ashoka Chakras. The director could have done a little more homework and tightened the script further. But for a state that churns out action movies and over-the-top stuff, this is a good beginning especially when there are people in the state and the country who are allergic to “hypernationalistic nonsense”.
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