How The Concept Of Patriotism Has Evolved In Bollywood

While films like The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Bose: The Unforgettable Hero and Mangal Pandey were being made time and again, one film de-constructed the whole idea of a nationalist hero and made him more relatable in today’s time. Lage Raho Munnabhai can be considered an example of how the Gen-Y perceives the leaders of freedom movement. Rather than highlighting the sacrificing dialogues, the film was more about Gandhi’s ideology and way of life and how it can be adapted in modern times.

The film that found a perfect balance between inner struggles of identity and boundary defined love for nation was Chak De! India. A team of women hockey players fight prejudices, inner conflicts, personalities under the guidance of a Muslim man termed as ‘traitor’ to bring glory to I-N-D-I-A. From regional, religious and gender discrimination, the hero of the film was a team the underdogs who gave the age old definition of patriotism a new face.