On Wednesday, actor Randeep Hooda announced that he will portray Veer Savarkar in Mahesh Manjrekar’s upcoming directorial Swatantra Veer Savarkar. The film is based on the life of freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar who was also a social reformer, writer, poet, historian, political leader, and philosopher.
Announcing the news on the occasion of Shaheed Diwas, Hooda took to Instagram and said, “Kuch kahaniyaan batayi jaati hai aur kuch jee jaati hain (Some stories are to be made and some stories are to be lived)! Grateful, excited, and honored to be part of #SwatantraVeerSavarkar’s biopic”.
Movie critic Taran Adarsh also shared the news on Twitter and said that actor Randeep Hooda would portray the title role in the film ‘Swatantra Veer Savarkar’. Giving further details about the movie, he said that the film will be directed by Mahesh Manjrekar, produced by Anand Pandit and Sandeep Singh, and will be co-produced by Roopa Pandit and Sam Khan.
Randeep Hooda talking to the Indian Express called the title role challenging and said that he was happy to be able to showcase Veer Savarkar’s life story. “There are many heroes that have played their part in getting us our independence. However, not everyone has got their due. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar is the most misunderstood, debated, and influential of these unsung heroes and his story must be told.”, he was quoted. Director Mahesh Manjrekar meanwhile said that this was the right time to tell stories from our history that have remained ignored to date.
It is important to note that history has never been kind to Veer Savarkar. Through a concerted attempt, Savarkar was constantly made an object of scorn and contempt by successive governments after India attained freedom in 1947. He was also falsely implicated in the murder of Gandhi Ji but was later exonerated for the lack of evidence against him.
Author Vikram Sampath recently launched his concluding volume on freedom fighter Veer Savarkar, ‘Savarkar: A Contested Legacy’, 1924-1966, which chronicled the final leg of the freedom fighter’s extraordinary life. The book was released in July 2021 and it instantly rekindled the debate surrounding the vigorous attempts made by successive Congress governments and left-liberal intelligentsia to falsely vilify the freedom fighter and besmirch his reputation.
Actor Randeep Hooda was last seen in Salman Khan starrer Radhe, where he played a supporting character. His other important works include Chris Hemsworth starrer Hollywood action film ‘Extraction’ and ‘Sarabjit’ directed by Omang Kumar, also based on a true story.