Indian filmmaker Kabir Khan's The Forgotten Army – Azaadi Ke Liye is all set to be released on Amazon Prime Video next week.
The five-episode miniseries will trace the formation of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose-led Indian National Army, the Indian military wing formed by Indian prisoners of war who were captured after the fall of Singapore.
The series was shot in Singapore, Thailand and India, with the director recreating scenes of 1940s Singapore in Mumbai.
“The series is a well-crafted and gripping tale of India’s battle under historic Indian nationalist Subhas Chandra Bose, whose defiant patriotism made him a hero in India but whose attempt during WWII to rid India of the British rule with the help of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan left a troubled legacy,” an official statement read.
The series is based on Kabir Khan’s directorial debut documentary, The Forgotten Army, about the INA which aired in 1999 on Doordarshan.
The Forgotten Army will launch across 200 countries and territories on January 24, 2020 on the OTT platform.
A scene from The Forgotten Army. Based on true events, the Amazon original series traces the story of the brave soldiers of the Indian National Army (INA) who marched to win back their country from the British. Photo courtesy: Amazon Prime Video
The five-episode miniseries stars Sunny Kaushal and will be launched in 200 countries on January 24, 2020. Photo courtesy: Amazon Prime Video
The Indian National Army (INA), which was forged out of British defeat in Singapore during WWII, was led by the charismatic Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and had the first ever women infantry regiment anywhere in the world. Photo courtesy: Amazon Prime Video
Newcomer Sharvari Wagh plays a young, determined woman, who enrolls into the INA, and has dreams of witnessing a free India. Photo courtesy: Amazon Prime Video
The show also depicts what former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill claimed as the “worst disaster” and “largest capitulation” in British military history, when over 80,000 members of the British Army, which comprised of Indian soldiers, surrendered in Singapore to over 30,000 Japanese. Photo courtesy: Amazon Prime Video
Some of the surrendered Indian officers joining the Indian National Army, or INA, formed originally by the Japanese to fight on their side. Photo courtesy: Amazon Prime Video
The series raises several questions about identity, independence and the idea of motherland and the cost of freedom, said an official summary. Photo courtesy: amazon Prime Video
The series was shot in Singapore, Thailand and India, with the director recreating scenes of 1940s Singapore in Mumbai. Photo courtesy: Amazon Prime Video
While these soldiers (men and women) fought against all odds and against the British army to free India, their struggle and story somehow got lost and they became 'the forgotten army', said Director Kabir Khan. Photo courtesy: Amazon Prime video
The series has been tipped to be one of the most engrossing narratives of modern Indian and British colonial history. Photo courtesy: Amazon Prime Video
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