23rd March 1931: Shaheed (2002)

23rd March 1931: Shaheed is a 2002 Hindi film directed by Guddu Dhanoa which depicts the events leading up to the hanging of Indian freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and his companions Rajguru and Sukhdev on 23 March 1931. The film stars Bobby Deol as Bhagat Singh, his elder brother Sunny Deol as Chandrashekhar Azad and Amrita Singh in her comeback role as Bhagat Singh's mother. Aishwarya Rai has a special appearance in a song.

This is the second time real-life brothers Sunny and Bobby Deol appear in a film together after Dillagi (1999). They later appeared together again in several films like Apne (2007), Heroes (2011) and Yamla Pagla Deewana (2011).

The film's release coincided with another film based on Bhagat Singh directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and titled The Legend of Bhagat Singh. Both films bombed at the box office and were both declared disasters. However both were critically appreciated. The film picked up a Zee Cine Technical Award for Best Art Direction by Nitish Roy. Simple Kapadia, the costume designer of the movie also distinguished herself with a perfect replica of the 1930s costumes, making the movie even more realistic.

Synopsis

Set in 1931, British India, the film tells the story of freedom fighters Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad who have only motive in mind: Freedom for India. They set about doing this task together with two other men, Sukhdev and Rajguru. Bhagat Singh is enraged when his mentor Lala Lajpatrai is mercilessly beaten to death by the police, and he sets about to avenge his death. He and his colleagues do succeed in killing one of the officials responsible, but they are identified and as a result Bhagat and Rajguru are arrested and held in prison where they are tortured relentlessly.

Actors