By Subhash K Jha
BOLLYWOOD: Men in uniform have always fascinated our scriptwriters. Though we don’t see Akshay Kumar in uniform through most of Holiday, he never ceases to remind us that soldier is never off duty.
Here’s saluting the men in uniform:
1. Amitabh Bachchan In Major Saab: As the stern no-nonsense Major Jasbir Singh Rana the Big B looked every bit as formidable in uniform as General V K Singh. The trademark beard that he refused to shave off did cause a bit of a controversy. But once the performance was out all the audience saw was a man with the steely determination to convert lazy soldiers like Ajay Devgn’s character, into men with a mission.
2. Madhavan in Rang De Basanti: Remember the sequence where Soha Ali Khan hears of her beloved air force officer’s death on television? It shattered all of us. Men so gallant don’t deserve to die.Madhavan cut a dashing figure . When his screen mom Waheeda Rehman wept to the sound of Lukka chuppi we wept for all the mothers who lose their sons in battle.
3. Akshaye Khanna in Border: Though other actors from Suniel Shetty and Sunny Deol to Puneet Issar and Kulbhushan Kharbanda played soldiers in this epic war film it was Akshaye in his post-debut film who wrenched hearts as the young inexperienced jawaan who leaves his blind mother Raakhee and sweetheart Pooja Bhatt back in the village in Punjab to fight and die in a battle he doesn’t understand.
4. Rajesh Khanna in Aradhana: Arguably the most memorable soldier ever in a Hindi film. Rajesh Khanna striding out of that fighter plane in his introductory scene instantly become the first superstar of Hindi cinema.
5. Hrithik Roshan In Lakshya: from a vagabond and a wastrel to a responsible solidier on duty fighting for his country Hrithik Roshan made the transition look like a vivid petition for youngistan to join the army. He carried off the uniform as though he was born for it.
6. Shahrukh Khan In Veera-Zara: As squadron leader Veer Pratap Singh who falls for a Pakistani girl ,Shah Rukh was every inch the consummate Indian soldier . Sadly there were no battle scenes in this film. It would have been a treat for SRK fans to see him amidst booming guns and exploding bombs. Instead director Yash Chopra made the soldier hero a prisoner of war.What a waste of charisma!
7. Saif Ali Khan in LOC Kargil: There were 12 leading heroes in uniform in J.P Dutta’s epic saga. But it was Saif who broke hearts. The sequence in which his body is brought to Kareena Kapoor was so moving Shabana Azmi she couldn’t stop crying. Saif fan Parineeti Chopra says she can’t bear to watch Saif’s character come home in a coffin.
8. Manoj Bajpai in 1971: One of our most underrated war films directed by Amrit Sagar about prisoners of war in the Indo-Pak conflict in 1971 Bajpai cut a very convincing figure in uniform .So did Deepak Dobriyal, Ravi Kissan and Manav Kaul.
9. Dharmendra in Haqeeqat: No one could carry off the army uniform with as much casual cool as Garam Dharam.As Captain Bahadur Singh during the Indo-China war Dharmendra wowed audiences and yes, there was a sizeable increase in the number of youngsters recruited into the army after the release of this film.Chetan Anand made a moist-eyed impact with the soldierly anthem Hoke mayoos tujhe usne bulaya hoga.
10. Vinod Khanna in Achanak: A very different soldier, and one who is shown to fight for his country and yet unable to fight off his anger when he catches his wife having an extra-marital affair. In a fit of rage he kills her and flees.Soldiers never had it so difficult on the battle front.
