Vidroh
Come, tear all threats to tatters

Every time the pessimists, the forces working against Akshay Kumar, talk about the beginning of the end of Akshay Kumar, the optimist, the positive force in me (which is growing stronger, thanks be to God), I, think of my friend Kulbhushan Gupta’s Vidroh, a film which I have a strong feeling will give Akshay all the strength to stand up against all the evil forces working against him, fight them with all the might that is his strongpoint, trample every threat and find his place again, a place from where he will start a revolt to rise again and force the forces working against him to recognise his resurrection, his new life, his new confidence to command and conquer every evil force working against him. Kulbhushan Gupta’s Vidroh is Akshay’s answer to all those who have or are on the verge of giving him up as one of the big men in the league that lords over the industry.

The film was started with all the good intentions. Akshay was inspired by the subject offered to him by Kulbhushan. It was “a subject with a dynamic difference” written by Dilip Shukla (who specialised in writing good subjects for Rajkumar Santoshi, Guddu Dhanoa, Kuku Kohli and some other directors). It was a subject which was very relevant today, today when everything seems to go wrong in the right places, the places which matter to the defence, progress and prosperity of the country. Vidroh takes a close look at the nexus between crime, politics and the police force which is sadly but systematically caught between the two. There are some who go with the system which drives the people on the right side but there are others who are caught in a web created by the nexus but there are many who go out to make all the sacrifices possible, overcome all the most dangerous threats and traumas thrown in their way to save the good from the evil. The film also throws a searching light on the youth of today, youth with the fiery ambition to change the face of society, the state, the country, the world, if possible. The film is about the sheer power of youth on the right track, a track which leads to the good of all those who deserve all that is good. It is about youth and its power to change, to challenge, to bring about a change of minds, the mind where both good and evil in man are born. The film is an eye-opener in more ways than one. The film is a call to revolt against every face of evil, however powerful they may be. The film calls for a revolt to change because a revolt where you are in the right and are still pitted against an empire of evil always leads to a major triumph, come what may.

A young man (Akshay) from a middle class family, driven by the ambition to do something worthy, to strive to do something that would make use of his youth, joins the police force. It takes him very little time to realise the difference between his ambition and his ideas (which are representative of the ambition and ideas of the youth of the entire country or the youth anywhere in the world) and the grim realities that govern and ruin lives. It takes him very little time to recognise the forces of destruction and the realisation to revolt if the rot has to be stopped. He decides to revolt. His seniors, some of those who have developed the seeds of corruption sown in them by the powers outside, the politicians especially, try their best to crush his one-man revolt. But he is too strong in his resolve to revolt to set things right. He knows the path is painful, trouble and more trouble all the way. He begins his revolt, strikes where he feels he must strike without fear. His revolt leads to the unmasking of the faces of terror which look so innocent but which can give Satan the shivers. His revolt leads him to a dark no-man’s land but his spirit is too strong, the fire within still burns bright. He doesn’t give up till the end, till he puts an end to all that is shocking, a story which is happening all over these days. His story, his revolt must be the story of many other young men if they have to build a better future for themselves and set an example for generations to come.

Raveena Tandon is the leading lady. Amrish Puri, Raj Babbar, Mohan Joshi, Govind Namdeo, SM Zaheer and Ashalata are among others in the cast. The good intentions of producer Kulbhushan Gupta and writer- director Dilip Shukla helped them get permission to shoot on actual locations, locations like the police training institutes and jails. They give the film the look it richly deserves to bring the truth alive. Anand-Milind score the music. Gappa Chakravorty is the art director and Pramod Phatak the cinematographer.

The film has taken some time in the making but the makers have made it a point to see that the delay doesn’t mar or maul their intention in any way. “We have tried our best not to compromise on any aspect, big or small, in the making. This film is not just an entertainer, it is also an eye-opener. So we had to take every precaution at every stage. We couldn’t go wrong in a film in which we are trying to throw light to show the way to a bright new future,” Kulbhushan Gupta says.

The film is now almost complete and soon it will be time to try and lead a revolt at the box-office and succeed. That’s another revolt and may the men who made this revolt possible succeed in leading an enlightened revolt among the people. May their efforts and their intentions meet with the victory they deserve — films like such brave and daring films are rarely made.

APJ