''Raag Desh'' () is a 2017 Indian

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

action drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by

Tigmanshu Dhulia Tigmanshu Dhulia (born 3 July 1967) is an Indian film dialogue writer, director, actor, screenwriter, producer and casting director known for his works in Hindi cinema and Television. He wrote the dialogue for the 1998 film '' Dil Se..'', the ...

and produced by Gurdeep Singh Sappal and

Rajya Sabha TV Rajya Sabha TV was an Indian public cable television network channel owned and operated by Rajya Sabha that covered the proceedings of Rajya Sabha (the Upper House of the Parliament of India). It has now been replaced by Sansad TV. Apart from ...

. The film is based on Indian National Army trials, the joint court martial of

Indian National Army The Indian National Army (INA; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' ; 'Free Indian Army') was a Collaboration with the Axis powers, collaborationist armed force formed by Indian collaborators and Imperial Japan on 1 September 1942 in Southeast Asia during Worl ...

officers Colonel

Prem Sahgal Lieutenant colonel Prem Kumar Sahgal (25 March 1917 – 17 October 1992) was an officer of the British Indian Army. After becoming a Japanese prisoner of war, he served as an officer in the Indian National Army, which was led by Subhas Chandr ...

, Colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon, Major

Shah Nawaz Khan Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

on charges of treason against the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading post ...

during

World War 2 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The leading roles in ''Raag Desh'' have been played by Kunal Kapoor,

Amit Sadh Amit Sadh (born 5 June 1983) is an Indian actor. He is known for his roles in films like '' Kai Po Che'' (2013), ''Guddu Rangeela'' (2015), and ''Sarkar 3'' (2017). He began his acting career with the teen drama '' Kyun Hota Hai Pyarrr'' and la ...

Mohit Marwah Mohit Marwah is an Indian actor who works in Bollywood films. He is best known for his debut feature film '' Fugly'' (2014), and ''Raag Desh'' (2017). He has also appeared in short films such as ''Strangers in the Night'' produced by Dharma Pro ...

and

Mrudula Murali Mrudula Murali Mangalasseri, credited as Mrudula Murali, is an Indian actress, model, anchor and classical dancer. Personal life Mrudula was born on 8 June to Muralidharan Nair, who is working as an engineer in F.A.C.T Kalamassery, and Latha ...

. The film was released on July 28, 2017. Rishi Punjabi is the cinematographer of the film.

Premises

A period film based on the historic 1945 Indian National Army Red Fort Trials.

Cast

* Kunal Kapoor as

as Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon *

Hikaru Ito is a Japanese professional baseball catcher for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball. Early Baseball Career A native of Okazaki, he began playing baseball at the age of five due to the influence of his father. He p ...

as Chief General Japanese Army Officer *

Vijay Varma Vijay Varma is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Hindi cinema. Varma rose to prominence with his role in ''Pink'' (2016) and has since acted in critically-acclaimed roles in ''MCA'' (2017), ''Gully Boy'' (2019), ''Baaghi 3'' (20 ...

as Jamal Kidwai * Keneth Desai as

Bhulabhai Desai Bhulabhai Desai (13 October 1877 – 6 May 1946) was an Indian independence activist and acclaimed lawyer. He is well-remembered for his defence of the three Indian National Army soldiers accused of treason during World War II, and for attempt ...

Kenny Basumatary Kenny Deori Basumatary is an Indian actor and film director in Assamese films. He is best known for Directing the Assamese martial arts comedy film Local Kung Fu he also starred in the movie. It was nominated for best Assamese film in the ina ...

as Netaji

Subhas Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose ( ; 23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945 * * * * * * * * *) was an Indian nationalist whose defiance of British authority in India made him a hero among Indians, but his wartime alliances with Nazi Germany and Imperi ...

as Captain Laxmi Sahgal *

Alexx O'Nell Alexx O'Nell (born Alexander Leonard O'Neill on July 26, 1980) is an American actor and musician who is based in India and has appeared in films, series, and music videos in English and Indian languages. He is best known for '' Golondaaj'', '' R ...

as Colonel P. Walsh *

Zakir Hussain Zakir Hussain ( ur, , link=no) is the name of: * Zakir Husain (politician), an Indian politician and former president of India * Zakir Hussain (actor), Bollywood actor * Zakir Hussain (field hockey) (1934–2019), Pakistani field hockey player * Za ...

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

Nag * Kanwaljit Singh as Prem's Father *

Rajesh Khera Rajesh Khera (''Rājēśa Khērā'') is an Indian television actor and voice actor who has acted in many Hindi films and is remembered for the role of fashion designer Maddy in '' Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin''. He was recently seen as a contender ...

Jawahar Lal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

* Deepraj Rana as Afzal Khan * Amrita Rai as

Col. Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

Dhillon's Mother * Kuldip Sareen as Col. Dhillon's Father * Vishwas Kini as Mohan Singh * Anil Rastogi as Kailash Nath Katju

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of ''Raag Desh'' consists of four songs composed by Rana Mazumder, Ram Singh Thakuri & Siddharth Pandit.

Critical reception

Rohit Vats of

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Ly ...

gave the film a rating of 3.5 out of 5, saying that the movie is, "A heavy dose of patriotism that is totally worth your time." Nihit Bhave of

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, t ...

gave the film a rating of 3 out of 5 and said that, "Had the screenplay been freed of its half-hearted side-tracks, it would have made for great infotainment. The movie is only half of that word now." Kunal Guha of

Mumbai Mirror The ''Mumbai Mirror'' is an Indian English-language newspaper published in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Launched in 2005 as a compact daily newspaper, its coverage focuses on city specific local news and civic issues concerning education, healthcare a ...

gave the film a rating of 2.5 out of 5 saying that, "Tigmanshu Dhulia's historical drama has a compelling story but is fleshed out half-heartedly". Shubhra Gupta of

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Limited, Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, ...

gave the film a rating of 2 out of 5 and said that, "Raag Desh has lofty ambition, but the stagey treatment lets it down. The war scenes are plentiful but you can't help seeing the clunkiness." Saibal Chatterjee of

NDTV New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. The company is considered to be a legacy brand that pioneered independent news broadcasting in India, and is credited for launching ...

gave the film a rating of 3 out of 5 saying that ''Raag Desh'' "is a riveting, if not exactly exhilarating, epic tale that presents a prudent blend of war, patriotic fervour, expert legal sleights and good old human drama." Rohit Bhatnagar of

Deccan Chronicle ''Deccan Chronicle'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded by Rajagopal Mudaliar in the 1930s & currently owned by Samagrah Commercial Pvt Limited. It is published in Hyderabad, Telangana, by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited (D ...

gave the film a rating of 2 out of 5 and said that, "On the whole, Raag Desh is an average film with an untold factual story. The film could have been a much better plus in the era of commercial films, Raag Desh is a niche in its own genre." Kennith Rosario of The Hindu commented on the film that, "It is rather disappointing to see a film that ticks all the right boxes, fall apart because of the lack of a captivating narrative." Nandini Ramnath of ''Scroll'' praised the film, saying that, "Despite numerous rousing speeches for freedom, the movie never slides into chest-thumping jingoism, and at 137 minutes, provides an absorbing account of a fascinating and underexplored chapter of the freedom struggle." Sameeksha of

News18 Network18 Media & Investments Limited, (formerly SGA Finance and Management Service and Network18 Fincap Limited) commonly referred to as the Network18 Group and sometimes as the Network18–Eenadu Group, is an Indian media conglomerate owned b ...

gave the film a rating of 2.5 out of 5 and said that, "Tigmanshu Dhulia brings forth a forgotten chapter of 1945 Red Fort trials and makes it into a history class rather than an engaging watch."

References

External links

* {{Tigmanshu Dhulia 2017 films 2010s Hindi-language films Films set in Delhi Films shot in Delhi Films set in India Indian historical drama films Indian biographical drama films Indian war drama films Indian films based on actual events Indian National Army in fiction Films set in the Indian independence movement 2017 biographical drama films 2010s historical drama films Films directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia Indian historical action films 2017 drama films Films about Subhas Chandra Bose Indian World War II films