Original subtitles

Who told you to kill them?

They are Indian soldiers.

Don't do things without my orders!

You! What's this?

Name? My name is Sodhi. Surinder Sodhi. My name, my name.

For Japan, it's Tojo. For India, it's Gandhi. Do you know Mr. Gandhi?

Yes, Indian. No Ganji-san. No.

For Japan, it's Tojo. For India, it's Gandhi. Do you know Mr. Gandhi?

What the fuck is Ganji-san?

Do you know Mr. Gandhi?

No, no Ganji-san! No Ganji-san!

Do you know Gandhi?

Gandhi?

Yes! Ganji-san! Ganji-san!

Translate for me and ask them if they know Mr. Gandhi.

Ganji-san means Gandhiji.

Gandhiji is fighting against the British, so the Japanese see him an ally.

But they call you the lapdogs of the British.

Ganji-san. Ganji-san.

Ganji-san. Ganji-san.

-Ganji-san. -Ganji-san.

We all Ganji-san. Ganji-san.

I have even met Gandhi-ji.

Why don't you tell him?

I meet Gandhi-ji... Ganji-san.

Many times. Personal. Hello, hello, Ganji-san. Hello.

You meet Ganji-san?

I did see him once.

It's the same fucking thing.

How would the Japanese know anyway?

Not many know the part India played in the Second World War.

India was not a free nation then.

As a result, Indians fought the Germans and the Japanese

as part of the British Indian Army.

The largest volunteer army of its time,

The British Indian Army had 60,000 Indian soldiers stationed in Singapore.

In 1942,

when Singapore fell prey to the Japanese invasion.

The British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill,

called it the biggest military disaster in British history.

Along with 30,000 British and Australian soldiers,

60,000 Indian were also taken prisoners by the Japanese.

Son of a bitch.

Man, we could have been dead meat today.

Ganji-san saved our lives.

This time, I'll definitely go and meet Gandhi-ji.

In fact, I'll just fall at his feet.

I'll say, "Gandhiji, you don't know me, but you saved my life."

So a sword-wielding Japanese turned you into Gandhi's follower.

Listen up! Tomorrow, all Indian soldiers will be taken to the city of Singapore!

Maya!

Maya!

Look Sodhi, her camera is bigger than her.

Asshole! Bloody... Asshole...

Maya!

What are you doing here?

Yeah, I thought so, too.

Winny, this one.

Dad, any news where they could be taking all these Indian soldiers?

They will be put in Japanese prison camps.

You mean, none of them will ever return to India?

I don't think any of them will get the chance to return to India.

-Dad, that's Uncle Liu. -Hey, Maya, don't go there, don't go.

Why?

Don't go, kid.

No! Somebody, please! No! Please! No, Papa! Papa!

What's going on outside?

Don't venture out, dear.

Very dangerous situation. Outside, they were beating Liu.

Poor guy.

Maya, we have to be careful.

We don't know how the Japanese will treat us Indians.

You shouldn't be going out, Maya.

You're fond of photography, right? Then why don't you run our studio?

Why do you have to get into all this?

Mom, please. I don't know how to turn a blind eye to things and live like you.

Then learn to do so.

This is no way to treat her.

She's only 19.

My heart skips a beat every time she steps out.

Bloody hell! They have got an entire army here.

There must be at least 50,000 men here.

But why?

All Indian officers and soldiers

will now be under the command of the Japanese.

Are we a herd of cattle, you motherfucker, to just hand us over to anyone you like?

This is impossible! You think we are crazy?

Consider yourselves not prisoners, but our friends.

So Japan wishes India to be free

and is cooperating in the formation of an army that will liberate India.

Sodhi, sir. What are they saying?

He's saying that the Japanese want India to be free.

-What? -What?

What?

I'm Captain Mohan Singh.

And I'm the commanding officer of the Indian National Army.

You heard that right.

The Indian National Army.

This is the army that will fight for the liberation of India.

For generations, Indian soldiers have been fighting and shedding their blood

for the British government.

But now the Indian soldiers will no longer fight for England.

We will fight, but only for India.

We will die, but only for India and its freedom!

We will fight! We will fight!

What the hell are you all doing?

Have you guys lost your mind? The Japanese just want to use us!

Those fucking Britishers are the ones who are using us!

Now we will fight for ourselves.

And who will you fire at?

At our Indian brothers in the British Army?

Are you ready to lay down your lives?

We are ready!

We've had enough.

You and your family have always been

lapdogs of the British!

If I'm a British lapdog, then you are one for the Japanese!

-Get out of the way! -I'll kill you!

Enough! Shut up! Shut up!

Stop fighting amongst yourselves, man!

What other option do we have right now?

If we don't join the Indian National Army,

these bloody Japanese will send us away to rot in some camp!

And once we go into those camps, we'll be lucky to ever come out alive.

Sodhi, sir, you have to guide us now.

I don't understand anything, sir. What is right and what should we do?

-Are you ready? -We are ready!

Tell me, are you ready?

Are you ready to sacrifice your life for your country?

Are you ready?

Are you ready?

No one slept that night.

How could we?

There was such turmoil in our hearts and minds.

What is right? What is wrong?

What is true loyalty?

And what is treachery?

Whose war are we fighting?

Some people took a hasty decision and joined

the Indian National Army the very next day.

How about you?

No.

How could my upbringing

and years of training suddenly change overnight?

I heard that 35,000 have signed up.

How could we shoot at the uniform that we wore with pride?

Three generations...

Three generations of my family have fought for the British.

My grandfather, my father and me.

I have to answer my grandfather as well.

If I end up taking a wrong decision, how will I face Gyaan Singh Sodhi?

I've been hearing this since childhood, sir.

"May we always live under the protection of the great British Empire!"

Instead they're using us.

And now that they're in trouble, they're giving us to the Japanese.

Their enemy is our enemy.

Then who is our friend?

I'm not trying to lecture you, sir.

You are educated. You understand politics.

But I listen to my heart.

And the heart can tell who's your enemy

and who you should give your life for.

A soldier is never afraid of dying, Tokas.

But he should know the reason why he's doing it.

And what exactly do you think our reason is right now?

Maybe to stay alive.

Traitors! Bastards!

You bastard!

Why are you calling us traitors?

Can't you see we are not with the Japanese?

You Indians think these Japs are going to help you?

You bunch of idiots! They are gonna keep you as their porters.

It's not as if you've treated us like equals.

You're betraying the people you've been living off all these years. Bastards!

Major!

I don't remember ever going to England to live off your land.

But I know that for the past 200 years, you've been living off our land.

It's time for you to go back home, Major, and leave mine!

Colonel, you'll enjoy this.

I found this photo on the Internet last night.

You must have seen this photo before.

Isn't this you?

Tell me something about this.

Do you remember this moment?

This was also taken by the same photographer.

Maya Srinivasan.

Did you know her?

It was our first day off after we joined the INA.

It'd been a while since we were free to roam around.

Hey... It's her.

Who?

That girl with the huge camera.

-Really? -Yeah, come.

-Let's go. -Are you mad?

-Let's ask for our picture. -You've gone crazy.

-Come on! -Stop!

Hello.

Hello.

Do you want your picture taken?

Yeah.

No. We don't want our picture taken.

We wanted a copy. You already took our picture that day.

Last month, when our army was brought here.

After the surrender.

Do you remember now?

Yeah, I remember that,

but there were thousands of soldiers out there.

I also took a lot of pictures that day.

So looking for your picture...

Sorry.

No problem, thank you. Let's go?

Come.

Can you believe it? She didn't even recognize you, Sodhi.

Excuse me! This one?

Yeah, this is the one.

I remembered when I saw your salute.

It was impossible to remember your faces.

And see, the two of you look so dirty and beaten down.

And today, you are glowing.

Thank you.

By the way, how much do we owe you for this?

No, no, nothing at all.

-No, please. I insist. -No, please.

For all that you soldiers are doing for us, this is the least we can do.

We are?

You all are brave soldiers who're going to fight for India's freedom.

Consider this as a gift from us.

-Thanks. -Just a minute.

"Going to fight for India's freedom?"

She's making it sound like you are Ganji-san.

It's not that, Arshad.

She just said something very profound.

You can say whatever you want. Just don't stand there like a statue.

Are you an Indian?

-Yeah... -She's Chinese.

Speaking in Hindi and forgetting faces are her favorite hobbies.

What I really meant to ask was, which part of India do you come from?

Well, I was born and brought up in Singapore.

Oh!

I've never even seen India.

But I'm an Indian at heart, just like the both of you.

Maya.

Captain Sodhi.

Arshad.

So, Captain Sodhi and Arshad, can you do me a favor?

Yes, of course. Tell us.

I want to take some pictures of your camp.

Oh, that's great! There's an event at our camp tomorrow.

You're most welcome.

We are inviting you as our guest.

-Of course. -Thank you.

So, please pick madam up at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow.

Of course.

Bye, I think.

Bye.

Thank you. Bye.

-Well done, Captain. -Arshad, shut up.

Bye.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Did I forget your name or you haven't told me yet?

No, I did tell you. Captain Sodhi.

I'm pretty sure "Captain" isn't your first name.

Surinder. Surinder Sodhi.

So, Mr. Surinder Sodhi, would you be able to drop me back home in three hours?

Otherwise, my mom will make me a prisoner-of-war and imprison me at home.

Why?

She thinks that the Japanese Army has come to Singapore only to look for me.

As soon as they see me, they'll start firing bullets.

Or maybe they'll shoot me for the crime of being

a woman who is trying to enter a man's world.

That's scary. In that case, you shouldn't step out of your house at all.

Oh, thank you.

Please do not look up.

Maybe your mother is right.

You shouldn't step out of the house. It's dangerous out here.

But a photographer has to take such risks.

I would willingly give my life for a good picture.

Parade attention!

Sir, the Japanese Imperial Army is gifting fifty cows

to the Indian National Army.

What is this, Major?

Sodhi-san, Japanese Imperial Army going to present fifty cows to India side.

Milk for the patients.

I understand that.

But these are not cows, Major.

They are bulls.

What is the difference?

Difference is that these are man-cows and man-cows give no milk.

Not even a little?

No, Major, not a single drop.

I'm sure it sounds strange now, but back in those days,

the Japanese diet did not include any milk or yogurt.

And now they had to deal with us Indians,

who couldn't survive without milk.

There's another photo.

What about this one?

Were you there when this photo was taken?

To tell you the truth...

It was only after I listened to Netaji's speech,

that I dedicated myself to the INA.

This photo is from the day when he gave us an orientation.

A few months after the INA was formed,

Mohan Singh was removed

as he wasn't getting along with the Japanese.

Without someone to lead them, the INA began to scatter.

Then one day, Netaji arrived.

We will encounter hunger, thirst and death on the way.

That day, for the first time, I realized that I can write my own destiny.

It cannot be said how many of us will return alive.

That I can also bring about a revolution.

The point is that in the end, we shall achieve our goal.

I can change the course of history.

India shall be free.

Just like he was doing.

Onwards to Delhi!

Onwards to Delhi!

-Onwards to Delhi! -Onwards to Delhi!

-Onwards to Delhi! -Onwards to Delhi!

Our task will not end until our surviving heroes

hold the victory parade on the graveyard of the British Empire,

the Lal Qila or the Red Fortress of ancient Delhi.

The hour has struck and every patriotic Indian

must advance towards the field of battle.

Only when the blood of freedom-loving Indians begins to flow

will India attain her freedom.

Long live the revolution!

Long live free India!

I stand here representing the provincial government

and ask you to offer money, jewelry

or anything else you can contribute to the cause of freedom.

Onwards to Delhi!

Onwards to Delhi!

Onwards to Delhi!

Onwards to Delhi!

Onwards to Delhi!

Onwards to Delhi!

Onwards to Delhi!

You've been friends since childhood.

Yes.

So why don't you two get married?

She likes you a lot.

Yes, Aunty, we're the best of friends, but...

We've never talked about marriage.

Maya is such a free-spirited woman. I don't want to curb her.

Try talking to her, Shridhar.

Tell me, what are you waiting for?

I'll wait till this damn war is over.

Where on earth were you, Maya?

You knew Shridhar is coming for dinner.

Mom, I was at Kalyani's house.

You see, the INA had a big march today, so the roads were blocked.

Okay, now come and have your dinner.

I'm not feeling very well.

What happened, Maya? Can I help?

No, no. Nothing.

I'm just exhausted.

I'll sleep early today.

-Are you sure? -Yeah.

Good night.

Good night.

Maya should not be going out alone these days.

It's not safe, you know.

You worry too much. She can take care of herself.

What is it?

Whenever I ask you about the INA, you start telling me stories about Maya.

For me, they are one and the same.

Where are you lost, my friend?

Do you remember, Arshad?

When we were at the military academy in Dehradun,

what was written at the entrance of Chetwode Hall?

"The safety, honor and welfare

"of your country come first, always and every time."

"Safety, honor and welfare of your country."

We read these line every day, Arshad.

Every single day.

But now, after so many years,

I realized that your country, our country,

our nation is not England. It's India.

Were we that blind, Arshad?

Or just stupid?