Synopsis:
“
Mangal Pandey - The Rising” is based on the life of Mangal Pandey who is
known for his role as a leader in the Indian rebellion of May 1857 which
led to the downfall of the British East India Company and led to direct
rule by the British government (British Raj) of much of the Indian
subcontinent for the next 90 years. Called "The Sepoy Mutiny” by most
of the English-speaking world, Indians refer to it as the "First War of
Independence". Under the East Indian Company, injustice and widespread
resentment had led to the demand for change and self-rule.
During a fierce battle in the Afghan wars of the
mid-century, Mangal (Aamir Khan), a heroic sepoy, rescues his British
commanding officer William Gordon (Toby Stephens). The event creates a
strong friendship and binding loyalty between them that transcends
consideration of rank and race.
Heera (Rani Mukerji) is a native gypsy girl who has
been kidnapped and sold to Lol Bibi (Kiron Kher). Lol Bibi turns Heera
into a prostitute and makes her work for her. She soon catches the eyes
of Mangal Pandey and a liaison follows.
The friendship is soon challenged, first by arrival of
a charming and beautiful young aristocrat, Emily Kent (Coral Beed), and
then by the introduction of controversial new gun cartridges among the
troops. The relationship is complicated further when Gordon saves a
beautiful young native girl, Jwala (Amisha Patel), from the funeral pyre
of her late husband, and falls in love with her.
The new
cartridges required soldiers to bite through their greased casing, made
of animal fat of cows and pigs, ignoring religious beliefs of Muslim and
Hindu soldiers. Gordon assures Mangal that the cartridges are free from
pollution and demonstrating his total trust in Gordon, Mangal bites the
cartridge. The soldiers soon discover that the cartridges really are
greased by animal fat and this triggered the revolt, with Mangal growing
in stature in his attempt to lead the Indian people to freedom. Revolt
spread from
Meerut
to much of Northern India.
By 1858 the war ended with the defeat of the rebel
forces. Sentenced rebels were lashed to the mouth of cannons and blown
to pieces. The end of the war was followed by the execution of a vast
majority of combatants from the Indian side as well as large numbers of
civilians perceived to be sympathetic to the rebel cause.
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