Vicky Kaushal, Meghna Gulzar on ‘Sam Bahadur’: Patriotism has many interpretations, should not be straitjacketed

Ahead of the release of ‘Sam Bahadur,’ actor Vicky Kaushal and director Meghna Gulzar talk about how they cracked the charm and courage of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw

Sporting a sharp beard and wavy hair, Vicky Kaushal looks like he is promoting Animal. “The look is for Chaava, the story of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj,” he quickly clarifies as we head for a chat. Right now, the versatile actor is making heads turn with his portrayal of Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, the iconic military leader of modern India who fought in five wars and won us the 1971 Bangladesh war. “It has been a blessing. Very few actors get the opportunity to live and understand a life like his. It has taught me a lot that will stay with me.”

Director Meghna Gulzar says that Vicky, whose evocative portrayal of Sardar Udham Singh is still fresh in our minds, was her first and only choice for playing Sam Bahadur.

Meghna gets into a new direction every time she wields the megaphone. This time, she says, the challenge was bigger because she set out to make a biographical film of an Army officer. “I have started not with a jawan or a Lieutenant but straight away with the biggest of them all, the Field Marshal.” Starting with Manekshaw’s ADC (aide-de-comp) Brigadier Behram Panthanki and his military assistant Lieutenant General Deepinder Singh’s books, she reels out the long list of research material she used to keep the look and feel of the film authentic. Depicting his “ dynamic” with former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, Meghna says, was the most challenging part. “Whatever is out there, whatever he has said in his interviews, I am hoping we have captured well.”

Interestingly, Meghna refers to Manekshaw in the present tense. “The honest and principled man that he is, Sam is timeless. I realised recently that I don’t talk about Sam in the past tense, for I think his values and principles can never get outdated or go out of style. He should have been celebrated much earlier. But there is a very selfish part of me that says it’s good he wasn’t for it gave me an opportunity to make a film on him,” grins Meghna.

Edited excerpts from an interview:

Meghna: I feel that patriotism has many interpretations, and it should not be straitjacketed. I can love my country in many ways without shouting myself hoarse. I can do it in small ways by being a righteous and loyal citizen. Sam’s actions and the way he lived his life makes one feel patriotic. He always put the Army and the country first; that was his interpretation of patriotism.

But Sam also commanded deep respect in Pakistan when he visited the country after the 1971 war because of the humanitarian way in which he had treated the 93,000 Pakistani prisoners of war, something which had never happened before. He had magnanimity. When he came to know of a Pakistani soldier who fought against his jawans, he recommended his name for a military citation to his counterpart in Pakistan. For him, a soldier is a soldier. He is a judicious person and that’s why he is loved even today.