These Bollywood Films Might Get The Inner Patriotism In You

Here are some of the films you need to watch on this day:

The freedom fighters saga:

1. The Legend Of Bhagat Singh: Much before Gandhi, most of us are forgetting Bhagat Singh who became a part of the revolution at a very young age. His battle against the British Empire motivated many youngsters back in the day. This will make your blood boil with multiple cases like lynching, communal violence, rapes and many other issues which most of us are angered.

2. Mangal Pandey - The Rising: Aamir Khan’s most underrated film which dealt with the story of a freedom fighter of the same name who was part of the British sepoy then he starts a rebellion against the British Empire. The film brought everyone to tears in the end when he is hanged and a large number of people begin their rebellion against the British.

3. Lagaan: Well, this was just a fictionalized account of the freedom struggle where a bunch of farmers were challenged by the narcissist and arrogant British officer in a game of cricket in the pretext of cancelling the taxation of the villagers. This one was surely meant to be a spectacle which was later remembered even now.

The heroes who fight for our nation:

1. Border: One of the most iconic films in the history of Indian Cinema which dealt with the iconic 1971 war between India and Pakistan. The movie depicted the struggle of every army officer who is on the frontline and also their families who are left with hope and despair about their whereabouts. The only thing I felt about the patriotic about was the part where a soldier calls off his engagement just when he hears the news about the war breaking out and another soldier leaves his home to the warfront just minutes after he gets married. It shows that a soldier never rests even on joyful occasions.

2. Nayak - The Real Hero: The film has been a cult status with its unique storyline about an average common man who takes charge by becoming the part of the system and bringing a change in the society by removing anti-social elements. The film also showed that if problems like unemployment, poverty, religious prejudices, crime, and corruption can be removed from our country, our country would be on par with superpowers like Japan and Korea.

3. Sarfarosh: This film has patriotism written all over it and it is pretty obvious about a no-nonsense police officer taking charge of a high-profile case which involves the home-grown terrorists plotting and killing multiple innocents nationwide. This proves that even cops leave their personal lives aside to make sure that common people sleep peacefully in their homes while they are guarding their city against unwanted threats. The only part which got me goosebumps was the scene when he explains his struggle of becoming a police officer and what hardships he faced while preparing for it ranging from a terrorist threat which left his brother dead and his father paralyzed.

4. Lakshya: The film was a coming-of-age film of an aimless boy who casually gets admitted into the military academy only to realize his goal of becoming an army officer in India. But it even showed the patriotic angle in the film, especially when the soldiers carry an emotional baggage with them during the war. Which also dealt that soldiers have to leave their homes abruptly during these situations without any explanation.

5. Holiday: Another film on the Indian Army officers who come to their homes in Mumbai on a vacation and stumbles into a nefarious plot which will turn Mumbai into a living hell with many innocents getting slaughtered during that point of time. We sincerely salute the armed forces during the movie.

6. Baby: The invisible heroes who not many of the people will have an idea about. The film was a spy thriller which involved a bunch of individuals who travel around the world to finish the monsters who threaten to destroy the nation by orchestrating multiple explosions and deaths of innocents. You will feel proud of being an Indian during that time.

7. Parmanu - The Story Of Pokhran: A true story of India’s greatest achievements which dealt with the nuclear bomb test which took place in Rajasthan whilst hiding from the snoopy eyes of Pakistani and American spies who leave no stone unturned in thwarting their operations. More than winning cricket world cups, this was one of the biggest victories of the nation.

8. Rang De Basanti: This film is set in two eras, the modern era, and the pre-independence era. Where Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekhar Azad, and many other youngsters turned revolutionaries to achieve freedom from the British, just like that, the youngsters team up against a common cause which is called corruption when their best friend is killed by the corrupt ministers. The patriotic element is the dialogue by Siddharth when he states that the only way to fix the nation is to become a part of the system and change it the way which is beneficial for the country and its citizens.

The importance of being an Indian outside India:

1. Pardes: Karam Mera India, Watan Mera India (India is my country and my religion). The lines of the song happen to be the synonymous theme of the film. The film showed that even the glitter of the west will feel stale in front of the simple and sophisticated values of India. The film also showed that some Indians still cherish the likings of an average Indian even in the west. Despite the romantic angle, there was an interesting line in the film which denotes the purity of Indian culture, Jis sagar ki ganga, uss sagar mein jaye, jahan sur, sangam na taal milein, uss pardes bhala kyun jaye? (If a girl from India goes to a foreign land where she finds nothing in common, then why should she go there?).

2. Swades: One of the most heart touching films which explained the importance of being an Indian even when he is having a very good life with a very good job and an extravagant life in a foreign land. It even showed that even if an Indian is away from his motherland, eventually he/she will definitely come back to their home.

3. Namastey London: Most Indians living in countries like USA and UK get themselves immersed in activities like kissing in public, alcoholism, live-in relationships and many other ways which makes them ashamed to be an Indian as the world stereotypes them as the land of snake charmers. This one shows that even world will respect you if you use your Indian mentality outside India. It is shown in the important speech scene by Akshay Kumar.

4. Airlift: The story of the historic event which happened in Kuwait way back in the 90s when more than 1 lakh Indians trapped in Kuwait because of the Iraq Invasion. A rich Indian businessman has a change of heart and discards his Kuwaiti status to help his countrymen to get out of there. I got goosebumps when the Indian flag is hoisted at the airport and Akshay Kumar looks at it with pride.

Patriotism in terms of sports in films:

1. Chak De India: This one will surely make me proud to be an Indian, especially Shah Rukh Khan’s dedication to proving himself patriotic despite being accused of being a Pakistani. The moments which makes me a patriotic is the dialogues especially in the starting when he is introduced to the girls of his team and states that Mujhe states ke naam na sunai deti hai na dikhai. Sirf ek mulk ka naam sunai deta hai India (I don’t hear or see states only one name I hear and that is India) and the scene where SRK smiling when he sees an Australian hoisting an Indian flag when the team qualifies for finals. That scene surely brought tears to my eyes.

2. Dangal: The true story of the Phogat sisters who shined like anything in a country where only cricket is worshipped and other sports are given second-class treatment. This one surely prompted many other sports to be recognized.

3. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag: The story of The Flying Sikh who faced every hardship to get to the top and even battle his personal demons in the process to achieve it big for the nation. He later became the face of the nation in the field of track and field events. The victory in the end, made every stone-hearted person to melt.

4. Sachin - A Billion Dreams: A documentary on the most iconic face of cricket who ventured at the age of 16 and made history in his first international debut by scoring a century which made the veterans of cricket guessing about who is this young chap creating a storm in the world of cricket.

5. MS Dhoni - An Untold Story: The tale of India’s finest cricketer of the same name who had a very humble beginning in childhood and later went on making history by becoming the captain of Indian Cricket Team who lead the country to victory in 2011 World Cup. This is one of the proud moment for every Indian cricket team. This one surely got goosebumps during the scene when Dhoni enters the field during the final which gets the entire country anxious.

6. Mary Kom: The story of the first female boxer of the same name in India who fought back against all odds just to get a medal for India in Olympics. Her struggle inspired many women in India to take up boxing at a very young age. She has been referred to as the female version of Muhammed Ali.

If anyone has more suggestions please mention in the comments section below!