'Paan Singh Tomar' proved Tigmanshu Dhulia's mastery in dealing with real-life stories and the director has once again ventured into the territory with 'Raag Desh', based on the 1945 Red Fort trials.
The film revolves around the joint court-martial of INA officers-Colonel Prem Sehgal, Colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon and Major General Shah Nawaz Khan.
Dhulia, who was approached by Rajya Sabha TV to direct the film, said his aim was to stay true to history and not make it a typical 'Mumbaiya' entertainer. "It is a special film for me as it does not belong to the 'Mumbaiya' style of filmmaking. This subject of the INA (Indian National Army) and Subhas Chandra Bose was never on my agenda, but I realised I will never get an opportunity like this from a Mumbai-based producer," Dhulia said at the trailer launch of the film at the Parliament House yesterday.
The director researched for more than a year before he began shooting for the film, starring Amit Sadh, Mohit Marwah and Kunal Kapoor. "It is a historical subject, the way we showcase history in Bollywood is weird, like Akbar starts singing and other such things happen. In this film, the audience will not see Bose singing," Dhulia added.
The film is loaded with war sequences and the filmmaker said he drew inspiration from the 1998 Hollywood movie 'Saving Private Ryan' for it. "The era we are showing is so dramatic in itself that we do not need to inculcate any extra drama. The war sequences were the main task. My reference point was 'Saving Private Ryan'. I tried my level best to do something similar to it. The audiences will enjoy the sequences," he said.