Click to play videoMumbai: The 55th National Awards announced on Monday brought glory to 1971, Amrit Sagar's grim and realistic take on a group of Indian POWs daring escape after the 1971 Indo-Pak war.
The film took home the National honour for being the Best Hindi Feature Film.
It's a film that almost never got made. 1971 directed by Amrit Sagar was lying in the cans not finding a buyer for almost two years before Studio 18 stepped in and decided to pick it up as their first release. Released in March 2007, 1971 opened to good reviews but without the usual commercial elements, the film wasn't a box-office success.
Actor Manoj Bajpai said, “People just keep wondering what is 1971 and why does Manoj Bajpai list it in his list of favorite films, but I'm tired of saying this. In 2007, I used to scream from the roof tops and tell everyone that this is a really good film, but no one cared at that time, we did so much to promote the film, sold tickets behind the counter and went to Calcutta to promote it. But no one heard us. Now all those people are understood what I was talking about.”
Director Amrit Sagar said, 1971 revolved around a group of six Indian war prisoners who escape and set out on a dangerous journey back to the Indian border. It succeeded in highlighting the plight of Indian POWs who have been languishing for decades in Pakistani jails. And it was the spirit of the film which made Studio 18 choose 1971 as it's maiden release.
Head, Studio 18, Sandeep Bhargava said, “When we first saw the film, we really liked it. It was perfect to start the company with such a film, it was inspired from a true story and what it portrayed is exactly the values we wanted to portray from our studio.”
Now with the National Award for Best Hindi Feature Film under it's belt, 1971 has made a place for itself in the History of Indian cinema.
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