'Swatantrya Veer Savarkar' movie review: Eulogistic portrayal of a controversial figure

There’s a concerted effort to downplay Mahatma Gandhi’s eminence in the film.

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was a contentious and a controversial figure during the period of our Independence struggle. 

The film shows Savarkar (Hooda) starting a secret society — Abhinav Bharat – along with his brother Ganesh. With financial aid from Balgangadhar Tilak, he sets off to England to study law. There he continues his quest to liberate India through Abhinav Bharat by acquiring arms. Murder of a British official lands him in jail. From there, the British authorities move him to a prison in his native Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. Thereafter, he meets Mahatma Gandhi and a host of other luminaries of the freedom struggle.

There’s a concerted effort to downplay Gandhi’s eminence in the film. There are references to Bhagat Singh, Khudiram Bose and Netaji Subash Chandra Bose being inspired by the thoughts and ideological moorings of Savarkar. But this was hotly contested by the descendants of Netaji and Khudiram when the trailer was released.

The film unfolds as a thriller with loud music. An overly-stretched screenplay with too many close up shots makes it difficult to watch. 

Hooda in his debut directorial venture has tried to narrate the story through Savarkar’s  point of view. Though he passes muster as the male lead, he fails as the director. Ankita Lokhande who plays the role of Savarkar’s wife, Yamunabhai, has less screen presence and very few dialogues.

The timing of the film’s release with elections round the corner sure raises eyebrows. A spurt in the number of biopics in recent years may make a discerning cinephile wonder whether it is incidental or coincidental especially in light of personality cult looming large in our polity!