Original subtitles

I was just at Lol B#ibi's...

your Juliet is really worried about you, mate

She sent milk for you, specially laced with turmeric

B#ut I'm an untouchable and what I've touched you won't consume

So I saved you the dilemma and I drank it myself!

I want to meet her

Oh, so the fire rages here as well

B#ut how? You aren't a white man, eunuch or an untouchable.

I want to meet her

What's your name?

Heera

What caste?

People on sale have none. Whoever pays gets to choose my caste

Where are you from?

Don't know

As a child I was kidnapped, then sold

Since then, it's been one sale after another

Want to escape?

Escape? With you?

You're badly hurt

Did you drink the milk I sent?

Ya

Lying to me?

Lol B#ibi is looking for you

You'll get into trouble

Like the fish thrashes helplessly in a net...

so do I in your love

At the core of my being...

I feel an insatiable thirst...

and my every nerve is aflame

Oh tell me, lass, who's that thief of your thoughts?

That philanderer, that scoundrel,

he sins in my head

That philanderer, that scoundrel,

he sins in my head

Locking his eyes with mine...

he steals my sleep and peace of mind

That trickster... oh my rascal lover

Slowly but surely...

she falls in his trap

As the flames begin to lick her...

her veil begins to slip

That trickster

Oh my rascal lover

Oh tell me, lass, who is he?

Who's that thief of your dreams?

He's a soldier, a brave warrior, who by my word, has stolen my heart

I didn't think at first sight that he would possess me so

B#ut my heart began to beat aloud...

and I knew I was lost

How I panicked...

and burned with shame...

when he took my hand and pulled me close

Then clouds of desire gathered,

and burst forth with love's rain. Oh that trickster

Oh you scoundrel

What's up Davar?

Damn you, Nainsukh!

You cockeyed scoundrel! Can't you find someone else to bump into?

Who better than you, now that we're both the same... untouchables

What nonsense, you swine!

Well, you've bitten the bullet and licked the fat

You've lost your caste, you have nothing left to lose now

Shut up... that's a lie!

Your "lie" is being manufactured in a factory in Calcutta

Want to see for yourself?

Do you?

Come, my brothers, come

I won't stay silent any longer, even if it costs me my life!

It's true about the cartridges. See for yourself, pig fat and cow fat

May the devil stay away!

Is this your factory? - Only in name...

the real owner is an Englishman

I am a god-fearing man, brothers, I respect both Hindus and Muslims

Then why did you use cow and pig fat?!

The Company would have used crow fat if that was cheaper

Mangal...?

You lied to me!

I trusted you and you lied me

What're you talking about? - I saw it with my own eyes

The factory, the cartridge, the grease...

made with cow and pig fat

Oh God, no...

I'm now an outcaste

You know what it means to be an outcaste?

My entire community will shun me

They will no longer touch me, speak to me, eat with me,

or burn my body when I die

For them I am an untouchable. I no longer exist. I am a nobody

Mangal, listen to me... - You lied to me!

Listen to me, I didn't know! They lied to me

You plunder our land, you abuse our faith and now...

you want our Souls? Sahib... you've enjoyed a black man's loyalty

Now taste his fury

Mark my words, Captain sahib! This cartridge will explode

And it will bring to an end the Company Raj

Take back you pistol, Captain sahib. We're brothers no more

Don't...

If you are an untouchable then so am I

Mangal, we're all with you

A wrong done unknowingly is not a sin

That's what the scriptures say as well

This cartridge controversy could spin out of control sir.

We have tried to introduce it twice, in different regiments without success.

I would recommend caution.

Damn it we can't succumb to such blind superstition

May seem like superstition to us sir, but to the sepoys...

it's an extremely sensitive issue. It strikes them at their core.

Gordon urged his senior officers to respect the sepoys' feelings...

and withdraw the cartridge. He was reminded that...

the country was ruled by a Company which could not suffer losses.

Colonel Mitchell claimed that his sepoys were loyal...

and would do his bidding. So it was decided...

that a contingent from B#arrackpore be sent to B#ehrampore...

a hundred miles away... where they would be forced to use the cartridge, by example.

Mitchell ordered the sepoys from both the B#ehrampore...

and B#arrackpore regiments... to use the cartridge.

First company, first platoon,

step forward and pick up your rifles and the cartridges

Subedar

What's the matter?

The new cartridge, sir. The sepoys don't want to use it, sir

Damn it B#akht Khan

Now this is the Army

A soldier uses whatever arms and ammunition he is asked to use

First company, first platoon, step forward

Enough!

If you do not move I will blow you apart with cannon!

Move the artillery forward

You will obey orders!

I will count till ten

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Fire...

Dismiss the parade sir. This could turn serious

Do it sir

For god's sake, do it before it's too late!

Very well, dismiss the parade

Parade... dismiss!

Looting the armoury was wrong

Now we leave them no choice

What choice did we have? Mitchell was about to blow us up.

That was just a bluff. He doesn't have the authority

B#ut now he has an excuse

He'll attack us and claim that he's putting down a mutiny

They're coming to attack our homes with horses and cannons!

Don't panic. Get ready with your weapons

Come on

This is your commanding officer

Unless you lay down the arms which you have looted...

I promise you, I will give the orders of fire

We don't want bloodshed, Colonel sahib.

Withdraw your guns and go in peace

Surrender! This is your last chance

We are armed Colonel sahib! We will fight

B#ut sir, they are our own men

Not any more, can't you see they are mutineers

Split up into four groups and let each man carry two torches

Sir but we have no such commands from the General

Don't you dare interfere with my authority

Please withdraw for now, sir. Let me talk to them

All right do it, do it!

Listen up

This is corporal B#hola Tiwari speaking

Colonel Mitchell sahib has agreed to withdraw the cannons

The English soldiers are returning to their barracks

Please let them through

Fellow soldiers of India...

we have shed our blood without complaint...

in the service of our foreign masters

For them, we have conquered kingdom after kingdom

B#ut in return...

what have we got?

Poverty, hunger and humiliation

Mangal, Gordon sahib is here

I'm not here on duty

I've come to speak with Mangal Pandey

Whatever you have to say, you can say here. We're all friends

Give me a minute

Do you fully understand the implications of what you're doing?

The Army will never, never tolerate insubordination

You leave them no choice. They will have to use force unless...

Unless what? Unless what sahib?

Unless we go down on our knees and beg for mercy?

Swallow your cartridge and our honour?

Forget who we are and promise to remain your slaves forever?

For too long our minds have rusted in the service of foreign masters

All it takes is a little bit of grease to make us remember who we are

I can understand how you feel. I too feel angered...

when the Company is unreasonable, when officers are unfeeling,

when rules are unfair, but these differences...

must be resolved by reasonable means

This is the difference

Now what are the reasonable means?

News of the chaos at B#ehrampore had reached the senior officers.

They were unhappy with Mitchell's handling of the situation.

Mitchell is a fool

This shouldn't have been allowed to happen.

I've come to beg you to reconsider, sir. Please withdraw the cartridges.

You don't expect an army to succumb to a rumour do you, Captain?

This is not simply a question of idle gossip, sir.

Gordon once again urged that the cartridges be discontinued.

B#ut the officials paid no heed to him.

Instead, they cast aspersions on his loyalty, and said...

he could share his bed with a native, but not his loyalty.

The B#ritish were worried that there were very few white soldiers in B#arrackpore.

They decided to send for Queen Victoria's troops from...

Rangoon to deal with the rebelling sepoys.

And till Rangoon Regiment arrived...

they would stall for time by ordering an enquiry.

I think we should accept the Company's offer and return the guns

There will be only an inquiry, no punishments

Let them save face

B#ut we can win! For every B#ritish soldier, we are seven sepoys

Even if we win B#ehrampore, will it end the Company Raj?

So we take defeat without a fight?

Have we learnt nothing from the B#ritish? Rushing into battle is futile

B#ut if we plan well, we can win. Our country, our honour... everything

B#ut for now we need time

O' Messiah, lead us into hope...

O' Messiah, lead us into hope

In fervent worship, I seek you... like a moth seeks the flame

O' most merciful, benevolent God... hear my plea

Lead me to your light, show me the way

O' most merciful, benevolent God... hear my plea

O' Messiah, lead us into hope

My heart is uneasy, sleep and dreams elude me

I turn and toss as a storm grows in my breast

What is to happen next? Where does this story go?

The world waits with bated breath for the saga to unfold

O' Lord...

O' Messiah...

Why these hurdles, why this trial by fire?

O' most merciful, benevolent God... hear my plea

Welcome, friends, welcome...

welcome to the noble path

We are emissaries of King Nana Saheb

I am Azimullah and this is Chief of the Maratha army, Tatya Tope

Please be seated

What brings you to us?

You are aware how the Company has, through treachery and force...

snatched our kingdoms from us

They took Delhi, Awadh, Jhansi...

Everyone is angry

Nana Saheb has united all the kings...

to fight against the Company

We're here to invite you to join us

Invite us?

What is it, some feast?

Your Rajahs and Nawabs have gambled away their kingdoms

They've sold out to the company, my friend

We have seen them grovel and lay down their arms in front of us

What are they? Nothing

And you?

We are Hindustan. The Company rules on our strength

The Company's native army is the only force today...

with the numbers, the weapons and the training to challenge the Company

And afterwards? Who will rule?

The people

Even in England, the Queen may be on the coin, but the rule is of the people

The Company has always won by dividing us...

by making us fight, king against king, Hindu against Muslim

We have a common enemy... the Company

It's time to unite and fight against it

You want that we spill our blood to throw the Company out...

and become your slaves again?

No! This is a fight for freedom

Freedom from our past, freedom for our future

It is the need of the hour that we bury our differences

We're ready to fight alongside the kings

B#ut this revolution needs a unifying symbol

And that can only be the Red Fort in Delhi

If we agree...

to unite under the leadership of the Mughal Emperor B#ahadur Shah...

then we have a deal

B#ut B#ahadur Shah is 82 years old

Yes, he is old and infirm... but fed up of the Company's excesses

He needs us and we need him

His flag will be our banner

We know the disposition, speed and strength of the entire Company army

B#arrackpore, B#ehrampore, Raniganj

Allahabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut and Delhi

All large garrison towns

Three hundred thousand native sepoys and only forty thousand B#ritish soldiers

If on the same day, at the same time, all of us rise...

the Company won't know where to hide

In a single day, we disarm every B#ritish soldier

And the Company Raj comes to an end!

Praise be to Allah!

Astrology predicts that the Company Raj will end in a hundred years

And a hundred years, ends this May

Then let's fix the date

31st May

On that day, all of India will rise and become free

It's Holi!

Holi is here, an explosion of colour

The bells ring out and drumbeats roll

The streets dance in drunken abandon

It's the season of joy, my love

You wretches! Where are you off to?

Look, Holi is here in a riot of colours, painting one and all alike

Sorrows are lost, in new ecstasies of blues, greens and reds

Look, Holi is here in a riot of colours, painting one and all alike

Sorrows are lost, in new ecstasies of blues, greens and reds

I am going to be coloured anew...

this year the hues look richer

No one can stop us now, no one can hold us back...

No matter what... we are ready!

Look my love, I'm drenched in colours

And a little drunk, you sway so mesmerisingly

How can I not let go and enjoy this moment...

as you seduce me with your eyes? - No one can stop us now

No one can hold us back... no matter what... we are ready!

With a fistful of colours Lord Krishna sneaks up on his lover

B#ut Radha is quick as she is naughty and gives it back as good as she gets

With a fistful of colours Lord Krishna sneaks up on his lover

B#ut Radha is quick as she is naughty and gives it back as good as she gets

As the lovers unite and the colours mix Radha and Krishna become one

Which is Radha, which is Krishna who can tell them apart?

Under a blanket of colours our eyes lock, our hands touch

We come closer and something deep within me stirs

This spell of love, this joyous abandon, can you ever escape it?

Don't ask that of me anymore

No one can stop us now, no can hold us back...

no matter what... we are ready!

The insolent behavior of the sepoys Had the B#ritish officials worried.

Just then, General Anson received the news...

that Rangoon Regiment was afloat and would reach on...

April 1st. Anson decided that when the Queen's troops arrived...

the rebel soldiers would be disarmed and their leaders hanged.

It would be such a lesson that no one would dare rise for a hundred years.

Mangal, they're going to kill you

They've sent for the Rangoon Regiment

What... Rangoon Regiment? When?

1st April

How do you know?

Last night I was with Hewson

He blurts out a lot when he is drunk.

He said, once the Regiment gets here...

they'll disarm the native sepoys and hang their leaders

I'm scared, Mangal! Save yourself...

and save me... from this hell

Mangal, I beg you

Let's run away...

anywhere

No

Heera, I cannot run away

The situation has changed. We can't wait till May

B#ut the kings need time to prepare. - Time is what we don't have

One wrong move can ruin everything

Once the sepoys are disarmed, who will do the fighting?

Your Nana Saheb? Or B#ahadur Shah?

There's one way

We've received orders to march from B#ehrampore on 21st March...

to reach B#arrackpore on 30th March.

Rangoon Regiment arrives on 1st April

That gives us two days

The moment we reach B#arrackpore, we'll take over the cantonment

Then, before the Rangoon Regiment arrives, we march to Calcutta.

There we capture Fort William and hold on to it...

until the rebellion spreads throughout the country

Done with selling your milk to that white bitch?

B#etter that, than us starving

You bitch! Talking back to me?

Now their days are numbered! - Yeah, in your dreams!

Wait and see, their time's up!

B#y the next full-moon... slaughter!

Where...? In B#arrackpore?

Everywhere. All across India!

Memsaab, danger! Danger Memsaab!

Wait

What's going on, what danger?

B#aba is like my own son. I don't want anything to happen to him

Memsaab, you must leave! - Why what's going on?

The sepoys say Company Raj will end

They've been saying that for a hundred years. It won't happen

No! This time it's for real

Please take B#aba and go back to Englistan. Please

You've taken a great risk, Kamla.

Traitor! You dare to mutineer? Now see what we do to your wife and child!

What date have you devils set for this?

30th March

Send dispatches immediately

Stop the B#ehrampore Regiment from reaching here.

Contact Rangoon

The Queen's Regiment must get here before the 30th.

Remember... your wife and child!

On learning the rebels' plans, General Hearsey ordered that...

The Rangoon Regiment must reach B#arrackpore before 30th March.

Meanwhile, the B#ehrampore Regiment must be stopped en route...

and prevented from reaching B#arrackpore.

Halt!

Ah, B#akht Khan! - Why this halt, sir?

A storm is brewing. We stay here till it passes.

B#ut the Sepoys are tired... eager to reach B#arrackpore. They need to rest

Really? Well I'm afraid they must rest here

I will go and explain it to them

That won't be necessary

What's up?

What happened?

White soldiers, a whole army!

What? Where?

On the riverbank, I saw it myself

Are you out of your mind?!

B#elieve me, I swear by my mother!

On the banks

Come on... the B#rits are here!

The Rangoon Regiment has arrived.

Everyone to the Parade Ground. Quick!

Sound the bugle! Call everyone, quick!

This is not the time... - B#low the bugle

Mangal! What's the matter?

What's wrong with the Sergeant-Major?

Don't go out. It is bad luck to spill milk

It's an ill omen! Something terrible is going to happen!

Please don't go

Don't worry, I'll be fine

Come on! The time has come! Time to fight, time to be free!

What happened Mangal, what's wrong? - Get your weapons. The B#rits are here

The Rangoon Regiment has landed! - B#ut today isn't 1st April

They came early. We have to act fast. Go get your guns! Quick!

To arms!

B#ut B#akht Khan's men aren't here yet. - We need to wait for them

We can't wait. We must attack,

and capture the cantonment before the Rangoon Regiment moves in

Stop. Don't. You'll get us killed!

There's no time! Come on, move! Move!

No no, wait! He's gone mad!

Mangal your impatience will get us killed!

And this hesitation will kill the rebellion!

B#ut Mangal, we are not ready yet

It's now or never!

What's wrong with you guys?

Don't you see, the moment we have all been waiting for is here!

It's time to honour your pledge, it's time to do or die

Pick up your guns and fight

Fight for your freedom

For once, fight for yourselves

Fight!

Come on!

What's going on here!

Who sounded the bugle?

Mangal, stop

Mangal... no...

What the hell do you think you're doing?

A handful of sepoys is no match for the Rangoon Regiment

That we shall see

Then you leave me no choice

Get the General

Sir, it's begun

The B#ritish Army

Rangoon Regiment

You are completely outnumbered

Drop your guns and surrender, or die

It's too late, Mangal. It's all over

All of India is looking at us If we surrender now...

the rebellion dies before it is born. We can't let that happen

I won't let that happen

They are far too many, it's no use. Let's run

No... no...! - We can't win

We will win, even if it takes a hundred years

Let's run Mangal... please, or we'll all die!

Go

Spread the word

It has begun

Mangal the rebellion needs you!

The rebellion needs blood

Let it be mine

ATTACK!

Stop

Don't fire

Hold your fire

I want him alive

To the hospital! Quick! He mustn't die

Awaken, arise and be blessed. May all be blessed

Awaken, arise and be blessed. May all be blessed

The towns are awake, the homes are abuzz, every village is astir

Valleys awaken and so do their trees, look, shadows are coming to life!

Nana Saheb, B#arrackpore has risen

Soon the fire will spread all across

B#ut Tatya...

Make up your mind Nana Saheb. Seize the moment or perish

No hand can stem the fire that rages in people's hearts

Eyes ablaze and spirits aflame, no head will ever bow again

A changed people fill the streets, marching into death's embrace

Greetings, Queen Lakshmibai. - Welcome, Tatya

The time has come, earlier than we expected

Good. Just what I've been waiting to hear

Rising like a storm unstoppable, stirring the land in it's wake

They swear to crush and finally end this dark age of tyranny

I'm an Emperor only in name. I am weak, what can I do?

A giant wave is rising, Your Majesty

If we don't swim with it, we'll drown

Awaken, arise and be blessed. May all be blessed

He will live

There is still hope. I have spoken to them

If you tender a public apology, they will let you live

Just say that it was a mistake and you're sorry that's all

Or they will hang you

I am not sorry for my actions and I am not scared to die

So they cannot threaten me or forgive me

Mangal...

I don't want you to die

This is my fault, I let you do this, I passed on a lie

Gordon sahib, you did what you could and I did what I had to

My blood is not on your hands

I've come to realise that what I did and what I must do...

has nothing to do with bitting a bullet,

and nothing to do with the terror of becoming an outcaste

I... believed that Nainsukh was born an untouchable

Now... we are all untouchables in our own land

Gordon sahib, our fight is no longer against grease on a cartridge,

it is for our dignity, our freedom,

our right to hold our head as high as the next man

You, the lie, the grease...

I'd bite the bullet a hundred times if it would give my freedom

Mangal for god's sake we have to stop this thing,

or there will be terrible bloodshed

You don't understand

India is rising,

nothing and nobody can stop it,

not even my life

Mangal Pandey...

did you on the 29th of March incite the other sepoys...

to rebel against the Company?

Who were the others involved in this conspiracy?

On that morning, did you imbibe any intoxicating drinks?

This one called bhang, for instance?

Let the record show that the accused does not deny this

It's obvious that the accused has no interest whatsoever...

in the proceedings of this court martial. Therefore...

we shall have to rely upon testimonies of the eye witnesses...

and the officers attacked and wounded by the accused

You have known Mangal Pandey for the past seven years?

I have known him sir, as a brave soldier and a loyal friend

One of the finest sepoys to serve under my command

Is it true that on the 29th of March he attacked and injured you?

I cannot deny what happened sir, but I would like you to look...

at the circumstances that led to his behaviour, - Answer in yes or no...

Yes but the cartridge controversy and the subsequent events...

Yes or no Captain

Just knowing what happened is not enough

You have to understand why it happened

Yes or no!

Yes

Is it not also true that he subsequently murdered...

two of your fellow officers and injured four others?

Yes

That will be all, Captain

No, that will not be all!

You will hear me speak damn it!

Has this company become so blinded by arrogance and greed that...

it cannot see the danger that stares it in the face?

We stand surrounded by our own army

300,000 armed native soldiers so disillusioned by our command,

that they are on the verge of mutiny. And what do we do to pacify them?

We stoke the fire of their indignation...

by laughing at their concerns or suppressing them with brutality

B#ut mark my words, if you hang this man Mangal Pandey...

there will be rebellion, bloody rebellion...

that will sweep through this land like wildfire

A rebellion that will lead to the end of this Company Raj

Captain, enough!

Gordon tried his best to save Mangal.

He warned that if Mangal Pandey was hanged there would be a bloody rebellion...

That would put to an end the Company Raj.

B#ut even this warning fell on deaf ears.

They failed to hang him this morning

They have called for a hangman from Calcutta

They will hang him in public tomorrow,

and make a spectacle of his death

Hearken o' people...

the drum sounds the call

Now awake and arise

From your sleep of ages

Awaken, now awaken

The Earth comes alive as dawn heralds a new day

Rivers sparkle with new life and hope rises in oceans anew

Awaken, now awaken

Pay heed to this moment in Time,

though your eyes disbelieve what they see

A man is leaving this world of man,

see his head held proud and high

Oh how fortunate is the mother,

who gave birth to such a son

So fearless, he shall never die,

even if life is taken from him

With such dignity does this rebel take leave

every head bows in respect

On his lips the cry of freedom, his heart's desire for all to see

His eyes see beyond the present, the dream of his homeland free

You can kill a man but not his dream!

ATTACK!

ATTACK!

And so began the bloodiest rebellion in human history

The B#ritish called it a Sepoy Mutiny

B#ut for the Indians it was the first war of independence

An officer by the name Captain William Gordon,

was recorded as having joined the rebel forces...

and fought against the Company Raj

The rebellion was finally put down after a year...

but it destroyed the East India Company

And the B#ritish Crown took over the governance of India

Mangal Pandey in his death became a hero, a legend...

who inspired a nation to fight for freedom

The dream of freedom ignited by Mangal finally came true 90 years later...

on 15th August 1947, when India became free.