EXCLUSIVE: Ram Madhvani on making The Waking of a Nation, “We were troubled by the wounds in our hearts and minds”

Filmmaker Ram Madhvani’s web show The Waking of a Nation started streaming on Sony LIV from today. It is based on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre of 1919 and its aftermath. The show tells a fictitious story of lawyer Kantilal Sahni, played by Taaruk Raina, who tries to prove that the gruesome act, which killed hundreds of Indians, was a well thought out plan by the British.

In an exclusive chat with Bollywood Hungama, Madhvani was asked the reason why he felt this story needs to be told. He said, “There is so much we have been colonized by. We have all been at the receiving end of being brown skinned. Like Kanti says in the courtroom (in the show) that parents still wish that their child was gora (fair). So, why is there this white superiority? There is this fork and knife scene which Shantanu (Srivastava) and Shatrujeet (Nath) have written so beautifully. Even our poster was about blindfolding. We were troubled by the wounds in our hearts and minds. So, we wanted to speak about that.”

When asked the reason for keeping the main protagonist as a fictitious character while telling the tale of a real incident, he said, “Firstly, we are not saying that this is based on a true story. Neerja was based on a true character. Over here, there’s nobody except General Dyer and General O’Dwyer who are based on true characters. The rest of it is fictitious. I didn’t want to make it like a biopic. But the event was true.”

Madhvani added, “Even though we got everything from public domain, there is something which must have happened which we may not have known about. So, there was an emotional reason to make it partly fictional and partly on some of the real things. We also respected and didn’t show the massacre. Sometimes, you only know the name of Dyer; you don’t remember the names of the people who lost their lives. That’s why we dedicated the show to them.”

The Waking of a Nation also stars Nikita Dutta, Sahil Mehta and Bhawsheel Singh Sahni in pivotal roles.

Also Read: Nikita Dutta recalls relatives calling her “Farzi Punjabi”; explains how she prepared for The Waking of a Nation role

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