Bollywood actor Randeep Hooda flagged off a centennial freedom tour on Saturday, January 6 in honour of Vinayak Damodar Savarkars release from prison 100 years ago whose legacy of independence struggle remains contentious.Marking a milestoneHooda, who will portray Savarkar in the upcoming film Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, started the celebratory vehicle rally at Yerwada Central Jail in Pune. On January 6, 1924, Savarkar walked free after nearly a decade incarcerated for revolutionary activities against British rule.#WATCH | Maharashtra: Actor Randeep Hooda flags off the Swatantraveer Sawarkar Mukti Shatabdi Yatra from Yerwada Central Jail in Pune. pic.twitter.com/rKXGAmlE0X— ANI (@ANI) January 6, 2024Today marks a historic day, as it has been 100 years since Savarkar Ji was released, Hooda told reporters, noting Savarkar remained under house arrest for years afterwards. I hope through my movie, people will know more about him.#WATCH | Maharashtra: Actor Randeep Hooda says, Today was a historic day when Swatantraveer Sawarkar was released from jail...Today it has completed 100 years...We are symbolically going to release him from the jail. I am very happy to be part of this... pic.twitter.com/2iZbrEienN— ANI (@ANI) January 6, 2024Savarkar: An enduring iconWhile admired by some as a fierce nationalist, Savarkar has a complicated reputation due to later stances seen as accommodating Britain. Supporters view him as unfairly maligned. Hooda hopes his film will showcase Savarkars under-recognized contributions.Born in 1883 in the Marathi Chitpavan Brahmin Hindu family, Savarkar was involved in the independence movement from a young age. He started participating in the freedom movement while still a high school student and continued doing so while attending Fergusson College in Pune. While studying law in the United Kingdom, he was also active with groups like India House and the Free India Society. He promoted radical methods of resistance through his speeches, publications and political organising before being imprisoned in 1910. One of his works, The Indian War of Independence, based on the Revolt of 1857 was also outlawed by the British colonial authoritiesSimilar to other revolutionaries of his era, like Bhagat Singh, Subhash Chandra Bose, Khudiram Bose, Madanlal Dhingra, and many others, Savarkar left an enduring, if polarising, legacy. Yet backers believe he deserves recognition alongside more acclaimed leaders for trying to end colonial rule.Film seeks to recast imageDirected and co-written by Randeep Hooda with Utkarsh Naithani, Swatantrya Veer Savarkar strives to positively reframe its subject as an unappreciated hero. The period drama film also stars Ankita Lokhande opposite Hooda in the title role.While the yatra and biopic signify Savarkars contemporary relevance to some, debates continue around honouring such a complicated figure. Re-evaluating contentious historical icons requires open and thoughtful discourse from all sides.
