‘Amaran’ movie musings

In this world of wild social media, the word of mouth too has much power to convince a person about what is good, bad or ugly. For the last one week I was being asked by a couple of my cinema-addict friends to go and see a Tamil film by name ‘Amaran.’ They were persuasive. I said I do not know Tamil. They said, there is english sub-title. So, I landed in DRC Cinemas.

It is a real to reel story. A biographical love and war drama based on a Hindu Major Mukund Varadarajan, a Tamilian married to Malayali Christian girl. A love story. Also, a war story. Story of Rashtriya Rifles fighting the terrorists in Kashmir.

The film narrates Mukund’s life’s journey starting from his student days at Madras Christian College and falling in love with a girl, his future wife Indhu Rebecca Varghese, joining Indian army, resolving initial vehement resistance for the marriage from both the families, getting married, separation due to call of duty, begetting a baby girl, happy reunion on leave and life goes on. He also rises in rank as Major, had even a foreign posting as part of UN Mission in Lebanon which is shown in the film for a fleeting second.

Then the turning point. He was deputed from his parent 22 Rajput Unit to the Rashtriya Rifles and posted in the Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir.

The challenging and tragic drama of his life begins from here at a roller-coaster speed with much blood and gore. With much anxiety back at home for his wife and her family members. The way this scene is depicted on the screen is very moving and disturbing as it is traumatic to his wife who could hear the bang-bang of explosion as her husband’s phone remains switched-on but his voice absent.

The long-drawn-out scenes of indiscriminate shooting, explosion with blazing fire was tiring to my ears and eyes. And I slipped into a cat-nap. However, the scene where the news of Major Mukund’s death was conveyed to his wife was depicted in a very delicate and imaginative manner with appropriate words and emotions, was heart-rending. It was so moving; tears would naturally come to viewers’ eyes.

The film was a message of duty and honour for our country, a message about ‘India First’ kind of patriotism, a message about inter-religious marriage and then a message about looking after the family and parents. But the country comes first for a soldier.

Since this is a biographical war drama, it would be germane here to give a brief biography of the hero of the film Major Mukund Varadarajan — a great soldier to his country, an affectionate son to his parents, devoted husband to his wife and a loving father to his daughter as shown in the movie.

Major Mukund Varadarajan (see pic) was born on 12 April 1983 (five years after Star of Mysore was born!). He was born in Avadi, Chennai, Tamil Nadu to R. Varadarajan, a public sector banker and mother Geetha. It is significant that his grandfather and two of his uncles also served in the army.

In the film, the real names of Maj. Mukund, his wife and child are retained. Mukund secured a degree in commerce and also a diploma in journalism. Well, could be, if he had not become a soldier, he would have become a journalist and lived to see the divisive, dirty politics of our country.

He died in action on 25 April 2014, aged 31 in J&K. If at all an epitaph is to be written in his tomb, it would be most apt to use the one found in Kohima War Cemetery, Nagaland.

It reads:

“When you go home

Tell them of us and say,

For your tomorrow,

We gave our today.”

Certainly, Major Mukund Varadarajan gave his today for our tomorrow. And a grateful nation honoured him by posthumously awarding the Ashoka Chakra, India’s highest peacetime gallantry award in 2014 “for displaying valour beyond the call of duty” before attaining martyrdom while eliminating three top ranked Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists. His wife received the Ashoka Chakra from President Pranab Mukherjee on 26 January 2015, Republic Day.

Equally befitting honour is the bust of Major Mukund Varadarajan displayed at the Officers Training Academy. Worth seeing the cinema aptly titled Amaran, the immortal.

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